Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel appeared on CNBC’s Squawk on The Street today and provided comments on the WWE – UFC merger led by his company.
It was previously announced that WWE and UFC will merge into a new company, with Emanuel leading as the CEO, and Vince McMahon serving as Executive Chairman. Dana White will stay on as UFC President, while Nick Khan will stay on as WWE President.
Emanuel was asked if he can handle both McMahon and White.
“Actually, I represented UFC before we bought it for over 20 years and the same thing’s true with Vince [McMahon]. We have a good relationship,” he said. “[We will do] what we do with saving some costs, driving some revenue with sponsorship, international sales like we did with UFC, we’re going to do 2.0 with WWE.”
WWE is currently negotiating their TV rights deals with NBCUniversal (USA Network parent company) and FOX, inside an exclusivity window that should expire soon. When asked about the negotiations, Emanuel noted that the two brands are on different paths as UFC rights are up at a later date.
“Right now, we are concentrating on saving some costs, doing sponsorships which they didn’t have, using the same formula we used with UFC in international rights. WWE’s rights are open now, UFC in a year and a half from now. I think [WWE and UFC] are on separate time frames,” he said.
Khan previously would not rule out the possibility of the new company seeking a combined streaming deal for WWE and UFC. WWE’s current streaming deal with Peacock/NBCU expires in 2026, while UFC’s streaming deal with ESPN+ also expires in 2026.
Officials from the companies have all said they are looking to fully close the deal in the second half of 2023. Emanuel was asked today if the closing has been delayed, but he reiterated that they are waiting on regulatory approval from the United States government.
“We are waiting on the Department of Justice,” he said.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more.
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