TKO President Mark Shapiro spoke at the Annual JP Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference and had some interesting things to say about the UFC and WWE.
On the UFC front, it appears that if the UFC debut in Saudi Arabia goes well on June 22nd, then the company will do a “longer-term deal in Saudi Arabia.” It has signed a deal to return to Saudi Arabia past June 22nd but it is looking likelier that a bigger deal will come. One of the big drivers for events in Saudi Arabia is the hefty site fee price tag to bring the UFC to the kingdom. It was reported that the UFC is getting $20 million for the June event and $40 million to hold another event next year. One can only imagine how much more the company could receive in a multi-year partnership.
Site fees look to be a part of the TKO strategy in the future. The UFC is receiving significant site fees to hold events. Not only will TKO look for site fees for big events like Wrestlemania, but it will also ask of them from events like RAW and Smackdown. “Demand is outstripping supply,” Shapiro stated, which is one of the reasons that they would be asking for incentive packages.
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