The WWE is on the market. Whoever ends up owning the company will add one of the most powerful television properties to its portfolio. If the new owner is a media company, it makes sense that it would want to take advantage of WWE’s popularity on its airwaves.
CEO Nick Khan says while the long-term future is not set in stone, in the short term, whoever buys WWE will have to adhere to its previously negotiated TV deals.
“That’s probably the trickiest of all the parts, but one thing that all potential buyers know is that the rights that FOX and NBCU negotiated for separately will obviously have to be adhered to and respected with all sorts of good faith attached to that,” Khan said in an interview with Sports Business Journal.
USA Network, which is owned by NBC Universal, carries Monday Night Raw and WWE: NXT on Tuesday nights. NBC Universal’s Peacock streams those shows and other WWE programming including its premium events. FOX carries SmackDown on Friday nights.
The WWE is on the market at the same time as plenty of other sports rights. With NBC Universal and Disney among the rumored bidders for WWE, it seems like the company’s deal could be affected by a potential buyer wanting to be able to afford other rights too. Still, Khan is confident in WWE’s appeal in the market.
“We believe there’s plenty of money out there for us,” he said.
The current rights deals expire next year. Combined, they are worth $2.35 billion. That is only part of the reason Khan believes the WWE won’t have a problem getting its asking price on the open market.
“If you look at the ratings and relevancy of our product, we like to think we’re in a good position.”
