TKO, the parent company of the UFC and WWE, is nearing an agreement with the Saudi Arabian public wealth fund to create a new boxing league, TKO Group Holdings COO Mark Shapiro told investors on Wednesday’s earnings call.
“Everybody knows we’re in talks with the Saudis, but to give you a little more color, I will tell you that we are close on an agreement with the Saudis on the creation of a boxing league where we, TKO, would be the producer, the promoter and responsible for all day-to-day operations of the venture, whereby we would receive a fee of $10 million-plus,” Shapiro said during the question-and-answer portion of the call.
Shapiro stressed TKO will not be putting any capital into the project and will not be absorbing any added financial risk. That will fall on the Saudi Arabia Public Investment fund, though Shapiro did say TKO will stand to earn equity in the venture over a five-year period, depending on certain benchmarks.
Shapiro went on to say TKO sent a delegation, including WWE president Nick Khan and UFC COO Lawrence Epstein, to meet with Saudi representatives in London earlier this week, and the two sides are now “awfully close” to a deal.
Shapiro said the project would be “its own league” with regular boxing events scheduled throughout the year.
“I think on top of that, you should know that as part of the partnership we would be the promoter, producer and event operator of four large-scale kind of super fights, as I call them, that would air really probably two this year and two in 2025 [sic],” Shapiro said. “Those may or may not fall into the boxing league itself. They may just be one-offs. But we would be paid a fee to act as the promoter, the producer and the event operator.”
It is currently unclear whether Shapiro meant two events in 2026 following two events in 2025.
Shapiro also addressed questions about TKO’s plans regarding the Muhammad Ali Act, the federal legislation governing professional boxing in the United States that was intended to protect the welfare of boxers. TKO CEO Ari Emanuel previously suggested that the Ali Act hurt boxing, but hinted at possible changes to the law under the new Trump administration.
Shapiro insisted TKO was not actively trying to repeal the Ali Act, but did question its effect on the sport of boxing.
“Look, the Ali Act has flaws,” Shapiro said. “We believe it is actually possible to improve the current system, to facilitate more opportunities for boxers and to regrow the sport of boxing in America. That’s where we’re at. We’re not in there actively inside pushing, drafting legislation, lobbying legislators. That’s ultimately for somebody else. Whether it stays or goes, we think the opportunity for boxing is extraordinary for us, in particular.”
Along with Wednesday’s earnings call, TKO published a financial disclosure reporting total revenues of $642.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, with overall revenues of $2.804 billion for the whole of 2024.
The company’s 2024 net income of $6.4 million was a sizable decrease from the previous year, owing mostly to the $375 million settlement of the antitrust lawsuit against the UFC. Still, with the WWE’s 10-year, $5 billion deal with Netflix, combined with ongoing negotiations for a new broadcast rights deal for the UFC, TKO is targeting revenues between $2.93 billion and $3 billion for 2025.
As far as UFC’s next broadcast rights deal, Shapiro said the exclusive negotiating period with ESPN began on Jan. 15 and runs for 90 days.
“When we look at the outlook for renewal, I’d remind you that the market for premium content — despite ESPN shedding MLB and F1 — is hot. It’s quite strong,” Shapiro said. “The content, our content in particular, TKO, is unique because not only do we own and control it, but it’s year-round. There’s no off-season.
“Our content both at UFC and WWE, for that matter, has urgency. And the urgency allows us to attract subs and viewers, and also gives us a consistency to retain [subscribers] and viewers, reduce churn. Obviously, these are appealing attributes for buyers. The content, particularly with the streaming services, which is what it’s all about these days, when it comes to our overall deal? One package, two packages, half packages, four packages, NASCAR-style — whatever it might be, we’re focused on doing what’s best for the business in the long term. So that means a balance between maximizing our reach and engagement and monetization.”
