Nick Khan Further Comments On WWE Sale To Endeavor

On Monday an official announcement we made confirming WWE has been sold to Endeavor. WWE CEO Nick Khan, who will transition into a role as WWE President once the transaction is finalized spoke to Axios revealing that WWE and UFC media rights will remain separate for now. 

- Khan said that WWE and UFC will pursue separate, independent TV rights deals when their respective contracts are coming up for expiration. For WWE that is in 2024 and for UFC that is in 2025. WWE's deal with Peacock for streaming services runs out in 2026.

- Khan didn't rule out the possibility of a combined streaming deal for both entities.

- He noted that NBCU for Raw and FOX for Smackdown have been great partners of theirs and both companies would get first right of refusal when the TV deals for the two shows are being negotiated.

- Khan was hoping that both FOX and NBCU would re-up their current deals but if they decide they are no longer interested, the company would look towards the open marketplace for other partners.

- Khan said he isn't sure what the organizational structure of WWE will look like, when specifically asked about staff layoffs or releases. He said an integration team would be in place to review and they will know the results and what that will look like in a week or two.

- Khan said that WWE and UFC will be run independently of each other but if there are "fun things to do", they are going to figure out how to do it.

- He confirmed that WWE's relationship with Saudi Arabia will continue, pointing to their ongoing multi-year agreement and that they have an event scheduled on May 27. He called the relationship between the two sides a "terrific" partnership.

- Khan said he had nothing to share yet about how the new yet-to-be-named company will integrate sports betting into his business, but said he would have more information in a couple of weeks