On Monday, TKO President Mark Shapiro addressed the lack of sponsorship sales this year. Shapiro told CNBC that the second half of the year will see “many mulityear, all high margin, all recurring” sponsors.”
Shapiro appeared with TKO CEO Ari Emanuel who was promoting his new memoir.
The talk about TKO starts around the 5:05 minute mark. Shapiro’s appearance was in response to a “Wall Street narrative” that “sponsorship momentum is decelerating.” There has been slow in increases in 2% in Q1 and 8% in Q2 in the sponsorship segment.
In speaking with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” he cited “so many international events” in the first half of the year which prevented the sale of global partnerships.
Shapiro stated that WWE will “finish over 20% year-over-year increase on WWE partnership revenue for the year.”
Through the first 6 months of 2025, WWE had $89.4 million in its partnerships and marketing segment. In comparison, the UFC had $211 million in partnerships and marketing through June 30, 2026.
In 2025, WWE generated $159.6 million in sponsorships, partnerships and marketing revenue. Assuming the near $160M figure is correct, the WWE would be generating approximately $192 million by the end of 2026.
Based on the $89.4 million number, the WWE sponsorship department has a lot of work ahead of it to make Shapiro’s projection.
Notwithstanding the benchmark, Shapiro likely has secured the deals which is why he is making the announcement to investors in order to temper any concerns.
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