Streaming giant is looking for sports leagues “that can go global”, says TKO president Mark Shapiro.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) anticipates that Netflix will be “at the table” for negotiations on the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion’s next US media rights deal, according to Endeavor and TKO Group president and chief operating officer Mark Shapiro.
The UFC’s current broadcast deal with ESPN, which has been the exclusive US home of the promotion’s events since 2019, is up for renewal at the end of 2025.
ESPN’s parent company Disney has an exclusive negotiating window between January and April next year, with Shapiro saying last month that the UFC “hope to reach a deal”, though he added the promotion has other suitors.
“We see a long-term future with ESPN and the Walt Disney Company,” Shapiro said, speaking to media at the Leaders Week sports business conference in London. “We’re not looking to leave, but it takes two, and we have to make sure the deal is right.”
Now, in an interview with CNBC, Shapiro has talked up the possibility of Netflix entering the race for UFC rights, should the promotion not receive an offer from Disney that it deems acceptable.
“I think absolutely, [Netflix will] be at the table on UFC,” Shapiro told CNBC.
“They get the UFC. They’re fans of the UFC. They’ve been to the UFC. Their kids watch UFC, and they’re looking for those leagues, those brands, those kind of power sports content factories that can go global. And UFC is very much a global brand.”
Netflix has previously played down its interest in live sports rights, arguing they are expensive, fragmented and have too short a lifespan to be a worthwhile investment. The streaming giant, however, now finds itself in the sports broadcasting big leagues after striking deals with the National Football League (NFL) for Christmas Day games and TKO-owned World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to become the exclusive global home of Monday Night Raw.
Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos has played down the WWE deal, calling the wrestling promotion “sports entertainment”, However, both the WWE and NFL pacts highlight the streamer’s strategy of using event-driven content to get people to tune in. That ranges from a live comedy special or, in a sporting context, Jake Paul’s boxing match against Mike Tyson on 15th November.
Bidding for a full UFC rights package, though, would represent a change of tack for Netflix when it comes to live sport. But with the company leaning into its cheaper ad-supported tier to attract more subscribers, live sport remains incredibly appealing for advertisers.
“Advertising is so important to the growth of Netflix, and we’re going to see how they do with live events,” noted Shapiro. “The Tyson-Paul fight will tell us a lot. How many folks come to the table to watch that, how many folks sign up from Netflix or claim that they stayed with Netflix because of that.”
Away from the UFC, Shapiro confirmed to CNBC that WWE had scrapped plans to try and legalise betting on its matches, something the promotion had been mulling before the merger with UFC.
“It’s not happening,” said Shapiro. “We’re not doing that. We’re scripted. Look, years ago I ran Dick Clark Productions. We had enough challenge keeping the American Music Awards and the Golden Globe winners under wraps with an auditor that was there.
“We’re not going to be asking [WWE chief content officer] ‘Triple H’ Paul Levesque, who runs our creative, to keep his scripts so under wrap that we can start sports betting.”
TKO could also deepen its combat sports ties by starting a new boxing league, potentially with UFC chief executive Dana White.
“Boxing is something that Dana White has consistently brought up,” said Shapiro. “We’re not going to go buy or acquire any kind of boxing agencies or boxing federations. But could we organically start something and or bring on a partner that fuels that so we take no risk? That’s something we’re really attracted to.”
Having agreed to buy Professional Bull Riders (PBR) from Endeavor last month as part of a US$3.25 billion deal that also includes IMG and On Location, Shapiro said at the time that TKO would remain “opportunistic, selective, prudent and disciplined” when it came to mergers and acquisitions (M&As). More league investments are not imminent, including any involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, or a professional tennis association.
“We’re not looking at tennis,” Shapiro said. “And LIV’s got enough problems trying to buy in the PGA Tour, so we’re not going there.
“The fact is, there aren’t a lot of sports leagues out there, so we won’t be looking at acquiring anything, because we don’t see anything coming on the horizon. PBR was there. Most folks questioned why it wasn’t in TKO at the start.”
Shapiro’s comments coincided with Endeavor releasing its third quarter results. Revenue rose 66 per cent year-over-year (YoY) to US$2.03 billion and net losses widened from US$115.9 million in the same period last year to US$420.4 million.
Also notable was the performance of On Location, the exclusive hospitality provider of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which helped drive revenue of US$899.8 million for Endeavor’s events, experiences and rights segment – a YoY rise of 145.1 per cent.
Private equity giant Silver Lake is taking Endeavor private at an equity value of US$13 billion. The deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2025.