TKO Group is officially putting its biggest spectacles on the open market. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, President Mark Shapiro confirmed the company is adopting a “Formula 1” style business model, actively soliciting massive site fees from cities around the world to host premium live events. Shapiro made the company’s priority clear, stating, “most important to me is cash. You know, cash. Cash kills.”
The company is already in discussions with numerous global markets, including London, Paris, and several in the Middle East, to bring shows like WrestleMania or major UFC cards to their cities. As part of this push, Shapiro revealed TKO is working to bring a second UFC Fight Night to Saudi Arabia, structuring deals to navigate Abu Dhabi’s exclusive regional rights. This international strategy is paired with an explosion in sponsorship revenue, with UFC nearing $300 million in global partnerships and TKO as a whole expected to surpass $400 million.
A New Model for Tickets and Host Cities
This aggressive financial strategy extends directly to WWE’s core domestic business and its fanbase. Shapiro explained that TKO is moving away from what he described as Vince McMahon’s family-oriented ticket pricing, which he felt “wasn’t totally focused on maxing the opportunity.” The plan is to implement the UFC’s higher “ticket yield” model to increase revenue from every seat sold for WWE events.
This new philosophy also comes with an ultimatum for the towns that host weekly television. Shapiro stated that cities that break sales records for Raw, SmackDown, or even NXT will now have to pay a fee for WWE to come back. “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 warned. (h/t F4Online)
TKO’s revenue-first strategy is now fully in effect, applying its high-stakes bidding model to global PLEs and its premium pricing philosophy to every ticket sold. The message to WWE’s most successful domestic markets is clear: selling out the arena now comes with a price tag to ensure the show returns.