Below are a couple of top news stories of the day, featuring Netflix and WWE.
• WWE’s partnership with Netflix has been a success, with the streaming giant eager for more content beyond just airing RAW.
During TKO’s 2024 earnings call, Nick Khan praised Netflix for its strong promotion of WWE and revealed that the company has a growing appetite for additional programming. He confirmed that a behind-the-scenes WWE show is set to release later this year and hinted that more projects are in development.
Here’s what the WWE President said:
“All we’ve seen from Netflix is an appetite for more WWE. They’ve been phenomenal to deal with. They’ve promoted us in a way we hoped we would be promoted, even more so than we had hoped.
The appetite by Netflix to have additional ancillary programming. We announced a few weeks ago we’re doing a WWE behind-the-scenes show with Netflix, which will come out later this year. Assume there is more cooking in the pipeline.”
• TKO Group Holdings reported $2.804 billion in revenue for 2024, with a net income of $6.4 million. WWE generated $1.398 billion, while UFC slightly drew more with $1.406 billion.
In Q4 2024, TKO generated $642.2 million in revenue, a 5% increase from the previous year. UFC’s revenue rose by $61.1 million to $343.9 million, while WWE’s dropped by $32.9 million to $298.3 million due to Raw’s transition. Net income improved significantly, rising from a $16.1 million loss in 2023 to a $47.5 million profit, helped by reduced depreciation and administrative costs. Adjusted EBITDA grew by 7% to $238.1 million, with UFC’s increased profits offsetting WWE’s decline.
For the full year, revenue grew by 67%, but net income fell by $169.3 million due to higher expenses, including a $375 million UFC antitrust settlement. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 55% to $1.251 billion, driven mainly by WWE.
TKO ended 2024 with $525.6 million in cash and $2.78 billion in debt. Looking ahead to 2025, the company projects revenue between $2.93 billion and $3 billion, with an adjusted EBITDA target of $1.35 billion to $1.39 billion. Key goals include securing new U.S. media rights deals for WWE and UFC, integrating new business ventures, and enhancing live events.
