WWE is looking to cut back on house shows in order to reduce costs
WWE is looking to cut back on house shows in order to reduce costs in todays Wrestling news
TKO wants to add more UFC Fight Nights.
Mark Shapiro, TKO’s chief operating officer, said that they will be cutting back on WWE house show in the future. This is part of a cost reduction initiative with both WWE & UFC.
Shapiro, speaking at the UBS media conference on Monday, said that while house shows, or what he called “cards,” and/or “superstars events,” are good for building an audience, and bringing the company to “C and D Counties,” “from a profit perspective, they are dilutive.”
He said that they were currently going through this exercise.
He did not specify what “C and DD counties” meant. It’s assumed that he meant smaller cities and towns. He said WWE holds 300 events per year, with 170 being televised.
TKO and ESPN are also exploring the possibility of more UFC Fight Nights. He cited their six sold-outs and impressive gate last quarter, including their latest big financial achievement at Madison Square Garden. He did not say how many more they are looking to hire.
More cuts
Shapiro stated that they will reach 75% of the savings that TKO had estimated for TKO post-merger.
He pointed out that there are ways to save money in the production area, specifically with travel crews and production of televised UFC and WWE events.
“There are many production efficiencies.” Even if my production chiefs try to tell me that there aren’t any, I can assure you that I worked for ESPN for 12 long years, I was in charge of all production and I’ve been through the whole song and dance with each producer who treats their tape machines and cameras like babies and won’t give them up. We’re here to increase our margins.
He said, “We will scrutinize every dollar spent on production of every single event and every single telecast, and improve our savings.”
Raw TV rights
Shapiro did not sound as if they were in a hurry when asked about the domestic TV rights of WWE Raw. He said they could wait until the NBA TV Rights are completed, or even until the night before the current deal with NBCUniversal expires in the fall 2024.
Site fees
Shapiro reiterated that TKO will continue to seek site fees for both WWE events and UFC events. He said their deal for a combined event in Australia generated $16 millions, in addition to mentioning the Saudi Arabia deal. He also said that there are a number of countries that want to bring their event to their country.
Sponsorship
Shapiro said that he will not be satisfied until the UFC reaches $1 billion in sponsorship revenue as they want to be at the same level as the NBA and other sports.
He said that the “manifesto”, by Vince McMahon, for no sponsorships on the ring or anywhere else has been thrown away and they will follow the same plan for in-venue agreements as they did with UFC. He said that the WWE audience is “very diverse” with 40% of them being women and a lot of family.
WWE is looking to cut back on house shows in order to reduce costs in todays Wrestling news, Chatalong Chatbox, Results will be Hidden inside a spoiler Button so you will not bet spoiled about direct results.
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