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View Full Version : Nick Khan Says WWE is 'Churn-Proof Popper Property'



Kemo
06-09-2023, 07:29 AM
Nick Khan has been serving as the WWE CEO by himself since Stephanie McMahon walked away from the company a few months ago. Where she and Khan had been serving in that role as co-CEOs following Vince McMahon’s retirement from the company amid the hush money scandal in June 2022. WWE’s Board of Directors investigated the allegations. Triple H took over main roster creative last summer.

The Endeavor Group is acquiring WWE with the idea to merge the UFC and WWE into a new company later this year.

WWE’s US TV rights deals for Raw and SmackDown are up in 2024. Currently, WWE gets paid big bucks by NBCUniversal for Raw and FOX for SmackDown while also having a deal with NBCU for NXT and licensing its streaming rights for the WWE Network in the United States on Peacock.

While speaking at the J.P. Morgan 51st Annual Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference in Boston last month (transcribed by Hollywood Reporter), Khan brought up driving WWE Network subscribers to Peacock when that deal was reached, increasing Peacock’s subs.

“We are talking about the 22 million paid Peacock subscribers, millions of them – and I can’t say exactly how many million; I know it but we have given NBCU our word that we wouldn’t broadcast that information – are because of WWE. We are basically a churn-proof popper property since we go at least once a month with our premium live events, formerly known as pay-per-view. … So we think we have over-delivered with Peacock, we think we have over-delivered with our other partners, and now it’s time to monetize it properly.”

Regarding the US TV rights deals, Khan stated that they’re out of the exclusive window with FOX while still in the window with NBCU. He said talks with both companies have “gone phenomenally well,” and they’re trying to “balance getting the maximum value for what we consider these media rights to be.”