WME Group and TKO executive Mark Shapiro talks about the direction of WWE, UFC, a new boxing league, and EuroLeague basketball.
It was quite an eventful week for WME, Endeavor, and TKO Group.
Private equity colossus Silver Lake finally officially took Endeavor private in a $25 billion deal where the parent company will be known as Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. However, the Endeavor brand will no longer be used publicly. The WME talent agency, IMG licensing, 160over90, and other WME properties will fall under the umbrella of WME Group. Endeavor Group Holdings owns 60% of TKO Group, which owns the WWE, UFC, On Location, IMG, and PBR.
Endeavor founder and CEO Ari Emanuel will now become WME Group’s executive chairman in addition to remaining TKO’s CEO and executive chairman, reportedly receiving $173.8 million in cash as part of Silver Lake’s acquisition. Mark Shapiro will now lead WME Group as president and managing partner with co-chairmen Christian Muirhead and Richard Weitz.Â
As part of the deal, longtime Endeavor executive Patrick Whitesell is leaving the company to become the founder and CEO of a new platform investing in sports, media, and entertainment IP that Silver Lake will back to the tune of a reported $250 million. Whitesell’s first move will reportedly be buying a minority stake in Peyton Manning‘s Omaha Productions. That’s in addition to the reported acquisition of WME Football, which WME Group is no longer allowed to own under conflict-of-interest rules since Silver Lake CEO Egon Durban purchased a 7.5% stake in the Las Vegas Raiders last November. The football agency represents elite clients like Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Nick Bosa, and Christian McCaffrey.
Earlier this month at the MIT Sloan Sports & Analytics Conference in Boston — a few weeks before he’d officially take the reins at WME Group — I spoke with Shapiro, TKO’s president and COO, about its direction and future. That includes TKO’s new boxing initiative, WWE’s global strategy, doing business with Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, the UFC rights deal, and the future of IMG’s EuroLeague with the NBA exploring the possibility of its own European league.
Firmly entrenched in combat sports and entertainment with WWE and UFC, TKO will formally announce a boxing league later this year with a media distribution partner to be determined. UFC President and lead executive Dana White and WWE President Nick Khan will head an executive leadership team in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. On Bill Simmons‘ podcast last week, Sports Illustrated writer and DAZN boxing reporter Chris Mannix said that a fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford in September streamed on Netflix to launch TKO’s new league was “the worst-kept secret in boxing.”
The boxing league would further strengthen TKO’s ties to Saudi Arabia, which now hosts WWE and UFC events on a regular basis despite criticism of alleged human rights abuses in Saudi and other countries in that region.
“I see the financial conferences Saudi has every year, and I see major US companies, major US banks, and major US studios going out to have those meetings and attend the conferences,” Shapiro told Boardroom. “Qatar is doing the World Cup. Abu Dhabi’s got the EuroLeague Final Four. Saudi’s doing UFC, WWE, and tennis. The doors are open for business, and their audiences are clearly thirsty for more sports and entertainment, and we are excited to help fill that void.”
WWE‘s premium live events in Saudi Arabia every year were the start of a global initiative that’s been further accelerated since Endeavor merged UFC with WWE in 2023 to form TKO in a $21.4 billion deal. This year will see PLEs in Toronto and Paris, and the weekly Raw and Smackdown shows are on the first of two major European tours in 2025 following new media rights deals with Netflix and USA Network. Additionally, TKO and the Australian government announced a partnership where Perth will host five UFC and WWE events there through 2026.
WWE’s huge global audience, viewership, and social following, paired with its new 10-year, $5 billion global Netflix deal, is something Shapiro said TKO doesn’t take for granted and is the foundation for an enhanced worldwide strategy.
“We have to keep stretching,” he continued. “We have to keep bringing the brand to different towns and regions and then letting consumers and fans of pure entertainment get out and sample it. We’re building audience. And in order to build audience, you have to take the show on the road. That takes time, patience, and a lot of marketing investment.”
The one country Netflix doesn’t have PLE rights in is the US, where Peacock reportedly has a contract until 2026. Shapiro praised Peacock as a great partner and huge contributor to WWE’s growth domestically, with TKO pleased with Comcast‘s Smackdown coverage.
“I could see us being there for a long time,” he said.
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The buzz around TKO’s WWE deal with Peacock pales in comparison to UFC‘s US rights deal with ESPN, which expires at the end of the year. Disney has an exclusive negotiating window until April 15, Shapiro said, and the company would be pleased if they could agree on a contract extension. But TKO is ready to go to the open market if that date comes and goes without a deal.
“We’ll be deliberate and patient about it, very thoughtful about the process,” Shapiro said, adding that splitting the rights among multiple bidders is an option at TKO’s disposal. “And if we get out of the window with ESPN on April 15, then we will continue to have conversations potentially with Disney like the NBA did once they got out of their window. Or we will talk to other suitors…One of the great things about the UFC — among its many greats — is we’re very flexible with our content.”
One rights deal Shapiro didn’t have to worry about was IMG’s business partnership with EuroLeague basketball, inking a 10-year contract extension in January to keep the league’s 13 permanent members in place through the 2035-2036 season. But Thursday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed months of rumors by announcing the league would work with FIBA to explore building a new European basketball league by as soon as 2026. The proposal Silver will discuss with the league’s board of governors includes 16 teams — 12 permanent franchises — including reported interest from at least four EuroLeague clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Fenerbahçe Istanbul.
A new NBA-backed European basketball organization would seem like a direct threat to EuroLeague’s business model.
“Adam Silver’s one of the brightest men on the planet, and the NBA is an incredible organization. I would love nothing more than to see them get involved and bring their show to Europe on a regular basis in a regular season format,” Shapiro said prior to Thursday’s news. “I don’t think there is room for multiple leagues just in terms of infrastructure alone, and when they’re ready to come, there’s all kinds of opportunities and discussions that can be had between the EuroLeague and NBA. … When the NBA is serious about getting into Europe, actually prepared to take real steps, EuroLeague will be ready, willing to listen, and explore.”
As WME Group and TKO get set to conclude their first week in their new era under Shapiro’s leadership, he has to oversee the UFC rights deal, maintain EuroLeague’s dominant presence in the region, and help build a boxing operation from scratch. In the largest ever privatization of a media and entertainment company, Shapiro will continue his group’s global ambitions across the numerous properties under his purview.
Perhaps, for his sake, next week won’t be as eventful.
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