Endeavor buys WWE

[16Skippy]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/04/03/wwe-wrestling-ufc-endeavor/

UFC’s parent company is set to merge with WWE, putting the reality of mixed-martial arts and the sports-entertainment theater of professional wrestling under one organization.

Endeavor Group Holdings, helmed by Ari Emanuel, and Vince McMahon’s WWE will form a $21 billion entertainment company yet to be named. A Monday morning announcement from WWE indicates that Endeavor will own 51 percent and WWE shareholders will retain the rest. WWE has a companywide value of $9.3 billion, according to the announcement, and UFC’s value sits at $12.1 billion.

Part of the appeal is packaging together two year-round athletic brands that already have years of experience hosting live events and broadcasting/streaming, according to a presentation given to investors Monday.

Emanuel will lead the company as CEO and remain head of Endeavor. McMahon will serve as executive chairman of the board. Dana White, UFC’s president, will continue to lead the MMA brand.

I am hoping I fell for some kind of late April Fool's joke since I didn't see anyone else here talk about (please delete if that is the case lol). But lots of sites are reporting it now, not just MMA ones.

Click to read more...

 

[Blitzkrug]

This is a bad deal for everyone but Vince McMahon.

Vince in the last few months was essentially pushed out of the company due to a sexual scandal and the product was much better for it. Literally within hours of this deal being finalized he's back in the saddle and the show went to shit.

Only thing amusing about it as a wrestling fan lifer and a casual MMA observer is the idea of Vince allegedly being above Dana in the pecking order. The carny now has to bow to the king carny and it is hilarious.

 

[Taytro]

Yeah, no it's a real thing and it's kind of tacky but like... It's fine. Hopefully they both just keep their stuff separate and we move on like nothing ever happened. Unfortunately I think there will be an increase in cross promotion. WWE stars attending UFC events and UFC athletes being featured in WWE for promotional purposes for upcoming events. I think whatever cross promotion stuff they'll do will be a lot less cool than they think it will be.

 

[m9]

It's a really interesting story but as of now I just have no idea what it means for the UFC product so I don't really know what to say. I'm not a WWE fan so I really hope the product isn't blended in any way. I'll probably have much more to say a few months down the line.

The part that is confusing to me is that I don't really see or honestly believe that Dana White would be "reporting" to Vince. The UFC's company has grown to be worth more than WWE so it doesn't make sense to have the guy in charge of the lesser company overseeing anything. I would expect Vince's role is more in title only, especially related to the UFC stuff.

 

[pistolpete11]

It might end up being nothing, but I don't see any way it's a good thing for UFC-only or WWE-only fans.

I think it's probably going to be at least mildly annoying. A company isn't going to spend that much on something and then not maximize it's value. Especially since there is already some crossover when it comes to UFC and WWE fans, I think there will be a lot of cross promotion.

 

[chicagoskycam]

If you can find the Ariel episode on this they bring up some good points. The average age of WWE fans is much lower and this gives them an opportunity to market the UFC to those fans. Cross-marketing will not work as well the other way around the way. Big-name fighters will have the opportunity to make additional $$ by participating in a random WWE Event. Of course, the really fun stuff is when WWE stars make the transition, it's worked before.

I did not read anything regarding Dana reporting to Vince, seemed like it was going to be two separate entities inside Endeavor. This will also give them more power in negotiating their next TV Deals, ESPN is up in two years.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I did not read anything regarding Dana reporting to Vince, seemed like it was going to be two separate entities inside Endeavor. This will also give them more power in negotiating their next TV Deals, ESPN is up in two years.

Under the new power structure Ari Emanuel is the CEO of UFC-WWE combined company. Vince McMahon was named executive chairman. Dana and Nick khan are presidents of the UFC and WWE. So I guess technically McMahon is above him who knows but Emanuel said UFC and WWE brass will have full autonomy over their products. Vince is said to be taking a step back again from WWE on the creative side after this deal... I'm sure he'll be involved but I think he just came back to cash out at a big time price.

 

[DaaaaB's]

If you can find the Ariel episode on this they bring up some good points. The average age of WWE fans is much lower and this gives them an opportunity to market the UFC to those fans. Cross-marketing will not work as well the other way around the way. Big-name fighters will have the opportunity to make additional $$ by participating in a random WWE Event. Of course, the really fun stuff is when WWE stars make the transition, it's worked before.

I did not read anything regarding Dana reporting to Vince, seemed like it was going to be two separate entities inside Endeavor. This will also give them more power in negotiating their next TV Deals, ESPN is up in two years.

The average age of WWE fans is almost 60 years old. Same with professional wrestling in general. It hasn't been popular with kids/teens for a long time.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Under the new power structure Ari Emanuel is the CEO of UFC-WWE combined company. Vince McMahon was named executive chairman. Dana and Nick khan are presidents of the UFC and WWE. So I guess technically McMahon is above him who knows but Emanuel said UFC and WWE brass will have full autonomy over their products. Vince is said to be taking a step back again from WWE on the creative side after this deal... I'm sure he'll be involved but I think he just came back to cash out at a big time price.

That makes sense, I was watching the interview with Vince and I'm not sure exactly what he's done to his face. Looks crazy.