TKO exec: Both WWE & NBCUniversal ‘keen’ on renewing PLE contract for Peacock
The word TKO chief operating officer Mark Shapiro used to describe the interest level between both WWE and NBCUniversal when it comes to renewing their Peacock deal was “keen.”
Appearing at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference Monday, Shapiro said that they will get into discussions in the next financial quarter with NBCUniversal regarding their existing deal that provides U.S. viewers with both WWE premium live event and archive access. The deal is up in March 2026.
The full audio from the call can be found below.
Shapiro said that NBCUniversal has been “a crazy good partner” that has made WWE a priority in their growth plan and that WWE has been great for Peacock in both acquistion and retention of subscribers.
However, he did say that while NBCU is “keen to renew” and that they are also keen to renew with them, “it might make sense to move elsewhere if the plan, not just the dollars, makes the best sense for the growth of our brand and the property.”
He was asked if it make sense for everything WWE to be available on Netflix and he said while it may make sense to split the UFC TV rights package as an option, they have “really enjoyed being with one home as long as they hit the price” with ESPN/Disney. He said with WWE, it’s a relatively small package of events (noting that it could be 12-14 PLEs in addition to six NXT PLEs) so it makes sense to keep it in one place but that depends on supply and demand.
He speculated that it would make sense for Netflix to own everything WWE, but he wasn’t pitching that and merely bringing it up as it’s out there as an idea. He said a common theme is programmers are looking for big events and “not regular season,” saying that WWE can “make noise when we want to make noise.”
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Here’s a few other notes from Shapiro’s talk:
- He put over the Netflix deal and the early viewership success, specifically pointing to views as that is “most analogous to Nielsen,” Raw is up 13% year to date over USA and if you include the premiere, they are up 38%.
- He said NXT is up 22% year to date on CW vs. USA.
- Getting site fees for all 24 total WWE PLEs and UFC PPVs is still a focus over the next one-to-four years, saying that four are committed to Saudi Arabia which leaves them with 20 to sell. He noted they sell roughly about 1/3 of their inventory and are following the “F1 strategy on steroids” when it comes to doing that. After they sell those, they will move into selling Raws, SmackDowns and even NXTs. He noted those might not be at the highest level money wise, but pointed to examples like their upcoming WWE/UFC/PBR stretch in Kansas City as to what they can do.
- If WWE fans were hoping for any type of relief from higher than usual WWE ticket prices, that doesn’t appear to something worth holding one’s breath over. Shapiro said they have “much more to go” on optimizing revenues for their schedule, nothing WWE has just got into dynamic pricing and that by reducing house shows, “scarcity drives demand which gives us more pricing power.”
- There wasn’t much new on the UFC TV rights front other than that they hope to work something out with ESPN/Disney but their goal is to grow the sport and not necessarily go for the biggest money deal but one that will allow them to make the next deal after that even that much bigger.
- Shapiro put over the “cultural impact” of John Cena turning heel and how it was featured on ESPN.
- He added “you’ll be amazed at the surprises” that will come your way at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, comparing it to UFC’s event at the Sphere last year in terms of spectacle.