TKO Group Holdings reported a slight decrease in revenue generated by the UFC in the third quarter of 2024, down 11 percent in comparison to the promotion’s three-month period in 2023.
UFC recorded a total of $354 million in revenue ($195 million adjusted EBITDA) from July to September this year, a smaller figure than the $397 million they picked up in the same time period last year.
While sectors of the company’s business like live events and sponsorship held strong, producing just as much or even more revenue compared to last year, the promotion took a hit of roughly $50 million from their media rights & content.
TKO stated this decrease was due to the promotion hosting one less pay-per-view card in the quarter this year, and two fewer “Fight Night” cards compared to the third quarter of 2023.
While UFC saw a decrease in revenue, the WWE side of TKO’s business continued to grow and overall made it a successful quarter for the company. The leading professional wrestling brand reported $326 million in revenue, a 14 percent increase compared to the year prior.
With less than two months before the start of 2025, discussions around a new U.S. broadcasting deal for the UFC is a larger-than-ever topic around TKO’s business.
UFC’s exclusive negotiation window with Disney/ESPN – where they have broadcasted all UFC events since the beginning of 2019 – will begin on January 15th and run until mid-April. If they cannot reach a deal past that point, offers from other media companies will be considered as well.
It was emphasized once again during the latest TKO quarterly earnings call that UFC hopes to ink a new deal with Disney, although there are other promising options they could explore if needed.
“We will not have a shortage of suitors, we feel great,” said Mark Shapiro, TKO’s Chief Operating Officer. “But we love Disney, I can’t underscore it enough.”
The call also saw investors pose the question of whether TKO will dive into the world of boxing, an opportunity UFC CEO Dana White has discussed recently.
While Shapiro saw boxing as a world that has potential for them to enter, he urged the public to not get too invested in White’s comments on the sport.
“Off-the-cuff comments do not translate into a strategy,” he said. “Dana says a lot of things and has a lot of passions, and that’s why we love him.”
Further, Shapiro explained that if TKO were to enter into boxing, they would preferably do so “with a partner who would fund it and pay us to operate.”
TKO closed at $120.17 per share on Friday afternoon. The company’s value has steadily increased over the past year, up 41 percent since last fall. The stock price has notably been slowly recovering in recent days. The stock’s recent dip came following the news of TKO acquiring Professional Bull Riders and other Endeavor assets worth a combined $3.25 billion.
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