During a session at the UBS Global Media & Communications Conference, Mark Shapiro held court on a number of topics we’re interested in here at Cageside Seats. Not surprising considering Shapiro is the Chief
Operating Officer of WWE and UFC parent company TKO.
Shapiro commented on the hostile bid UFC’s new media right partner Paramount made for Warner Bros Discovery yesterday. This issue was already on our radar, of course, as WBD is AEW’s TV and streaming partner. And Paramount’s hostile takeover attempt was launched because WBD announced they were selling their studios and streaming business to WWE partner Netflix. TKO’s COO is excited by the possibilities of a combined Paramount/WBD, saying:
“I don’t know how this Netflix thing is going to play out, but if Paramount is able to get that asset, I like a world where [UFC] could potentially live on HBO. I like a world where we could potentially live on TNT. Historically, these are sports destinations. They’ve had their years of carrying premium sports and they’ve shown they can attract an audience for sports, but they can convert an audience for sports.”
The uncertain future of the WWE library, which contains decades of wrestling history and thousands of hours of footage, was raised. A recent report said those archives would be moving to YouTube, and Shapiro’s answer didn’t rule out that possibility. He was also asked about where new NXT premium live events will stream once the existing deal with Peacock for those expires in March of 2026
“We haven’t gone to market yet on the NXT PLEs, we have a lot on our plate right now and we want to be smart and strategic about that. We’re in no rush. We need to be deliberate and thoughtful. As it relates to the library, we’re working on a non-exclusive deal at the moment. I think we’ll have something to announce in Q1.”
The partnership with ESPN was also discussed, with Shapiro saying he expects that company will be “moving fast” to set-up subscribers of various cable systems with access to ESPN’s new streaming service as part of their cable subscription. He also praised the Disney-owned brand’s promotional efforts, saying they received a 10-page document with ESPN’s plans to promote WWE and “couldn’t have been happier — no notes.”
