Vince McMahon Possibly Influenced TKO Group's Stock Decline Following SmackDown's New Deal

SmackDown is set for a channel shift in 2024, transitioning from FOX back to the USA Network in a transaction worth billions. This announcement seemed to trigger a dip in TKO Group's stock value.

Commenting on the financial intricacies of the deal, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated:

“Neither side released the financials of the deal but the word is that they will average $287 million over the five years, a 40 percent increase over the $205 million on the FOX deal. However, this has led to a stock decline since Wall Street was expecting a minimum of $307.5 million on the deal and that number was part of the stock price.”

In a recent talk at Bloomberg’s Screentime conference, Endeavor and TKO Group CEO Ari Emanuel attributed the stock price drop to a combination of factors, including Vince McMahon's role in the negotiations:

“I think there’s three things that happened. One, the reason the stock is down is they thought Raw was the best package. I saw 40 percent increase which was in line with expectations… Two, the P.F.L. situation and three, probably Vince (McMahon) in our deal, wanted to be able to put, at any point in time, his stock. He’s 78 years old. He’s been working at this for decades and decades so, I think those three back-to-back issues.”

⚡ WWE Reportedly Opts for Traditional Survivor Series Concept

WWE has scheduled the 2023 Survivor Series for Saturday, November 25, at the Allstate Arena in Chicago. The preceding evening, Friday Night [...]

— Ben Jordan Kerin Oct 11, 2023 06:43PM