Why TKO CEO Ari Emanuel Points To NBA Media Rights Deal As A Good Sign For WWE

It's has been a year of corporate movement within sports, with WWE fresh off of its merger into TKO and AEW under the microscope as it negotiates a new media rights deal. Outside of wrestling, the NBA made headlines by announcing its intent to leave TNT Sports, owned by AEW's broadcast partner Warner Bros. Discovery, in order to accept an 11-year streaming deal with Amazon. Much has been said about the potential knock-on effect, positive or detrimental, the NBA media rights saga could have on AEW's own negotiations with WBD. But during TKO's Q2 Investor Call, CEO Ari Emanuel also recognized a silver lining in the deal as it applied to his company. 

"The strength and appeal of our iconic properties are undeniable, and the value proposition we laid out for TKO is widely evident," he said. "As we build towards the launch of WWE's partnership with Netflix and with the record-breaking NBA media rights deals signalling powerful secular tailwinds ahead of our rights renewals, our conviction in TKO's potential for long-term growth and value creation is as strong as ever." 

A secular tailwind refers to long-term economic trends which feed into market growth. So Emanuel is looking at the NBA media rights deal as indicative of the valuation of sports entities, including TKO's UFC and WWE. WWE specifically agreed new broadcasting deals which will see "WWE SmackDown" move to the USA Network and "WWE NXT" to The CW later this year, with "WWE Raw" moving to Netflix in January 2025. AEW has yet to announce an expected new deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, after having reportedly eclipsed the exclusivity window in negotiations.