He explained that TKO plans to replicate the success of the UFC’s “ticket yield” model for WWE events. “We know we have a lot of room there because Vince McMahon was primarily pricing tickets for families,” Shapiro said. The new focus is on maximizing revenue from every seat sold, a strategy that moves away from the prior, more accessible model.
This aggressive revenue strategy extends to host cities themselves. Shapiro issued a direct warning, stating that towns that break sales records will have to pay for WWE to return, specifically naming Raw, SmackDown, and even NXT events as part of this new model. “If we have a St. Louis going up against a Des Moines, Iowa… you have to pay for us to come back or else we’ll take it to another town,” he stated. (h/t F4Online)
A Financially Proven Strategy
The push for higher ticket prices is already reflected in the company’s financials. WWE’s live event and hospitality revenue reached $185.7 million in the second quarter, a year-over-year increase of $41.4 million, which was attributed in part to higher ticket sales from events like WrestleMania 41 and Night of Champions.
Mark Shapiro’s comments solidify TKO’s strategy to move WWE away from its legacy family-pricing model and toward a premium, revenue-first approach for both tickets and site fees. As a result, cities that have previously hosted successful sell-out shows now face an ultimatum: pay a premium for the product to come back, or TKO will take its events elsewhere.