News

Endeavor is launching a review of the events within its Img portfolio and may sell off certain assets, the company announced Thursday.

Events under review include the Miami Open and Madrid Open, two legendary Atp Masters 1000 and Wta 1000 tennis tournaments, and Frieze, which includes the well-known art fair as well as publishing and music interests. The decisions follow the April 2024 announcement that Silver Lake will take Endeavor private, which also included provisions related to the potential sale of certain businesses.

Tko Group Holdings and entertainment agency WME are not included as businesses potentially up for sale.

“Endeavor’s portfolio includes iconic, global, and must-attend events spanning sports, entertainment, and the arts,” said Mark Shapiro, president and chief operating officer, Endeavor. “As part of Endeavor, Frieze and the Miami and Madrid Open tournaments have each grown significantly, from Frieze launching successful fairs in Los Angeles and Seoul to the Miami and...

The Endeavor Group-controlled Tko Group said Thursday that its board of directors has agreed to acquire Professional Bull Riders (Pbr), hospitality firm On Location and Img from Endeavor in an all-stock transaction valued at $3.25 billion, authorized a share repurchase program of up to $2 billion, and the initiation of a quarterly cash dividend program worth $75 million in quarterly distributions.

“In addition to complementing Tko’s existing core UFC and WWE businesses, the strategic acquisition of these sports and hospitality assets from Endeavor expands Tko’s operational footprint in the fast-growing premium sports market and enables direct participation in the upside from partner leagues and events,” the company said.

After the closing of the deal, Endeavor is expected to own approximately 59 percent of Tko “alongside the other existing Tko shareholders, who will own the remaining 41 percent,” the companies said. “The transaction is also subject to purchase price adjustments to be settled in cash and equity.

UFC’s exclusive negotiating window with ESPN on a new TV deal begins in January.

UFC wants to keep growing its audience. That’s the message behind Endeavor and Tko president Mark Shapiro’s recent comments about the Mma companies’ media rights as they are set to start negotiating with Disney on a new TV deal for UFC events. Discussing those upcoming negotiations at the Leaders Week sports business conference in London this week, Shapiro reiterated his desire to see UFC continue partnering with ESPN and said that he’d like to see more events air on ABC as well.

Key Details: Shapiro said expanding UFC events on ABC is a great way to grow UFC’s audience. The executive also discussed the potential of adding multiple broadcast partners in UFC’s next deal. UFC’s exclusive negotiating window with ESPN stretches from January to April. Sign Up Now $10.99+ / month espnplus.

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As “WWE SmackDown” shifts channels from Fox to USA Network on Friday as part of WWE’s recent rights deal, the show’s viewership has been up 7% year over year in the key 18-49 demographic, according to data from Nielsen shared by the company. “SmackDown” has averaged 840,000 viewers in the demo per week this year to date, compared with 788,000 per week in the same period in 2023.

The show faces a challenging future, with viewership numbers likely to dip given the smaller overall penetration of USA Network on cable compared with broadcast network Fox, as well as the return of college football. But the “SmackDown” increase in real viewership is particularly impressive amid the ongoing decline of traditional linear programming, with the number of 18-49-year-olds watching TV overall down 13% vs.

Tko’s president Mark Shapiro called Disney CEO Bob Iger a ‘sports freak,’ and made it clear he wants the relationship between the companies to continue.

There can be little doubt in the success of UFC pay-per-views on ESPN+, if recent comments by Tko president Mark Shapiro are to be taken at face value. Shapiro spoke to investors at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on Wednesday, and as part of his comments spoke to how much his company enjoyed working with Disney to present UFC fights, and that he hopes to get a new deal struck with ESPN’s parent company as soon as possible.

Key Details: Shapiro told investors “it is our intention to re-sign with ESPN.” The negotiating window between Tko and Disney opens in January. Shapiro also mentioned there are “two or three” other platforms that are anxious to negotiate with Tko if it doesn’t renew with Disney.

With the UFC’s ESPN deal set to expire, Tko president-COO and former ESPN executive Mark Shapiro says the mixed martial arts league led by Dana White wants to ink a renewal with Disney during a three-month negotiating window from Jan. 15 to April 15.

No formal conversations have started but “it is our intention to re-sign with ESPN and Disney because they they’ve shown that they do it best. They understand synergy. They understand marketing. They do a great job technologically, with developing their platforms, engaging their consumers. And of course, ESPN flagship, which is their direct to consumer, is on the way. So we’re anxious to see what that’s all about and where we can fit in there,” he told investors at a Goldman Sachs media conference.

“I would also tell you that, you know, it’s rare when you have a CEO of a major...

Ari Emanuel, the CEO of Endeavor and one of Hollywood’s most outspoken voices in the fight against antisemitism, will be honored at the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s National Tribute Gala.

At the annual fundraiser for Swc, which has taken place since 1977 and brings together many of the most powerful and influential people in the business, Jews and non-Jews alike, Emanuel will receive the organization’s highest honor, the Humanitarian Award, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Emanuel, 63, will be feted by colleagues — and give an acceptance speech — at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on May 22. Members of the public can purchase tickets to attend, starting at $1500 a plate, but, in a first, the event will be closed to the press.

Emanuel famously does not mince his words, especially on matters related to antisemitism and Israel. Among other things, he led the industry’s boycott of Kanye West after the rapper went...

Tko Group Holdings beat Wall Street revenue expectations to a pulp in its first quarter 2024 earnings report Wednesday, though a $335 million UFC fighter pay settlement pushed the company from a profit to a loss in the quarter.

The company also cut a new WWE distribution deal, albeit a relatively minor one: Raw, which will move to Netflix in January 2025, will continue to run on USA Network through the end of this year. USA’s current deal for Raw was set to expire at the end of September. Tko says it is receiving $25 million for the program during the three month window.

The Endeavor-controlled company, which owns the UFC and WWE, reported revenue of $629.7 million, with a net loss of $249.5 million and adjusted Ebitda of $282.2 million. The company also raised its guidance for the year of up to $2.685 billion in revenue, and adjusted Ebitda of up to $1.205 billion

The loss is...

More of former Tko Group Executive Chairman Vince McMahon’s large stake in the company is changing hands, with Endeavor and Tko agreeing to buy a combined $311.2 million of his stock.

In an SEC filing, Endeavor Group said it would buy shares worth about $146.2 million. Tko Group Holdings, which Endeavor controls, will buy another $165 million in stock.

The moves follow recent comments about McMahon’s Tko position by Mark Shapiro, who is president and COO of Tko and Endeavor. On Tko’s quarterly earnings call in February with Wall Street analysts, he said the company was “on the sideline” waiting to see if McMahon would be shedding any more of his holdings. He noted that McMahon at that time still owned about 20 million shares in Tko even after selling more than 8 million last November for more than $700 million.

McMahon has needed to shore up funding for his legal expenses. The...

Silver Lake’s plan to take Endeavor private includes an investment of $250 million of seed equity “into a new business to be founded, managed and controlled” by executive chairman Patrick Whitesell.

The business will include “investing in and providing services to companies in the entertainment, media and sports industries; developing, producing, financing and exploiting film, television and digital audio visual content; talent management; and consulting with other entertainment companies,” according to an SEC filing today that include new contract details for Endeavor’s top executives.

So Whitesell, while continuing to be a big Endeavor shareholder and board member and remaining in a central role in WME, will be branching out. That’s all there was about the new company in the filing, which also laid out new employment letters for CEO Ari Emanuel and president and COO Mark Shapiro, who will be running Endeavor.

The document also refers a number...

Endeavor Group Holdings, parent of talent agency WME and controlling shareholder in combat sports powerhouse Tko Group, is going private.

Private equity firm Silver Lake Capital is leading the privatization, which the company describes Tuesday as the largest in media and entertainment history and the biggest in any sector over the past decade. The equity value of the acquisition is pegged at $13 billion, with the enterprise value nearly double that when the Tko interest is taken into account.

Shareholders will receive $27.50 in cash for each share. The price is a 9% premium over Monday’s close and 55% better than the closing price last October 25, which was when Endeavor announced it was considering strategic alternatives.

The move ends a mixed three-year run for Endeavor as a public company. Announced with great anticipation prior to Covid, the effort to take the company public was pulled at the eleventh hour in 2019 before finally coming...

After three years as a publicly traded company, the Ari Emanuel-led Endeavor is going private.

The Beverly Hills-based sports and entertainment giant — the owner of talent agencies WME and Img as well as assets like the Pbr bull riding organization, betting data firm OpenBet, marketing agency 160over90 and hospitality firm On Location — will be acquired by majority shareholder Silver Lake at a valuation of $13 billion, the firm said Tuesday.

Private equity firm Silver Lake will acquire all outstanding shares and Endeavor stockholders will receive $27.50 per share. The company traded on the New York Stock Exchange as “Edr” and closed at $25.27 per share on April 1. (Silver Lake notes that the company was trading at $17.72 on Oct. 25, a day before Endeavor formally declared a review of “strategic alternatives,” including the option to go private.)

The move marks the end of a run that began pre-pandemic in May 2019, when the company filed its intent to go public,...

UFC and WWE logged record revenue and sponsorship deals in 2023, which added up to a strong fourth quarter for Tko, the newly formed parent company of both sports brands.

The strong numbers reported for Tko on Tuesday stand in contrast to the controversy that erupted last month when disturbing sexual assault allegations were leveled against former WWE chairman Vince McMahon in a lawsuit by a former WWE employee. McMahon, who was the longtime leader of WWE prior to its September marger with UFC, has strongly denied the claims, but WWE and Tko leaders were quick to distance the company from its longtime leader and majority owner, forcing him to resign as chairman of Tko. McMahon still holds a considerable stake in the company, which was formed last September after the WWE-ufc merger. Endeavor, which reports Q4 earnings on Feb. 28, has majority interest in Tko and consolidates its results.

On a...

When Vince McMahon stepped into the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 23, he was on hand to celebrate what was supposed to be a triumph for Tko Group Holdings, the company for which he was executive chairman, and the owner of the WWE, the wrestling promotion that McMahon turned into a multibillion-dollar business.

Earlier that morning the WWE announced a blockbuster 10-year, $5 billion deal with Netflix to stream Raw in the U.S. and almost all of its other live programming in other markets around the world. And Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, one of the WWE’s biggest stars — turned global movie star — was set to ring the opening bell, in connection with an agreement to join Tko’s board of directors.

Speaking to attendees in the NYSE’s ornate 6th floor board room that morning, Johnson accepted a gold Tko championship belt from McMahon and Tko CEO Ari Emanuel.

Editor’s note: This post contain extremely sexually explicit details from the lawsuit against WWE founder Vince McMahon.

Updated, 1:51 Pm: Following a harrowing sexual assault and sex-trafficking lawsuit filed Thursday against Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment by a former WWE staff member, the wrestling mogul and current WWE owners Tko Group Holdings have broken their silence on the grisly claims.

“This lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth,” a spokesman for McMahon said today. “He will vigorously defend himself.”

“Mr. McMahon does not control Tko nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE,” a Tko spokesperson told Deadline this afternoon regarding the company’s Executive Chairman. “While this matter pre-dates our Tko executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally.”

The statement...

After over 30 years and 1500 episodes, it was announced today that WWE's flagship program, "Raw," (or "Monday Night Raw") is exiting the linear television landscape and becoming a streaming exclusive for Netflix. The streaming juggernaut will become the exclusive new home for "Raw" starting in January 2025 in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Latin America, among other territories. Over time, more regions will be added as part of the deal. Eventually, the other WWE weekly programs like "SmackDown" and "Nxt" will also join the Netflix family once their existing deals with USA Network and The CW expire, as will additional programming like documentaries, original series, and other future projects.

Considering WWE has its own production studio, it would be unsurprising if Netflix became the new exclusive distributor of WWE Studios, although this has yet to be confirmed. But what is potentially the biggest get outside of "Raw" is...

WWE is making another change with it’s Monday Night Raw programming!

The wrestling program currently airs on USA Network, but starting in 2025, the show will move to Netflix, leaving linear television for the first time since it started in 1993.

Raw isn’t the only thing that WWE is bringing over to Netflix.

Keep reading to find out more…

In addition to Raw moving to the streaming in January 2025, Netflix will also be the international home to SmackDown and Nxt, as well as “WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble,” and their award-winning documentaries, original series and forthcoming projects.

Raw will air on Netflix in the US, Canada, UK and Latin America.

“This deal is transformative,” Tko President and COO Mark Shapiro said. “It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years. Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape,...

Netflix and the WWE are about to make one helluva tag team.

In 2025, WWE’s weekly flagship program “Monday Night Raw” is leaving its longtime USA Network home for the greener pastures of Netflix — yes, we are referring there to the color of money.

Hey, the same move worked out for “Suits.”

“Monday Night Raw,” USA Network’s most-watched show, is heading to Netflix in a 10-year deal that will pay WWE parent company Tko more than $5 billion; top-rope stuff from today’s company filings. Netflix carries options to either extend the deal for another 10 years, or to opt out after the first five.

Curiously, in the Tuesday news announcement, Tko and Netflix both referred to the program simply as “Raw.” A person with knowledge of the plans told IndieWire that the show’s night of the week is subject to change in the move. It is possible Netflix would...

WWE’S Raw To Stream On Netflix From Next Year, $5 Billion Deal Is Valued For More Than 10 Years(Photo Credit –WWE/Twitter)

Here’s a great piece of news for all the WWE fans. In the latest turn of events, WWE’s flagship program, Raw, has been taken over by the Ott giant. In a new deal with Netflix, the show will stream on the platform starting next year. If the latest reports are abuzz, then Netflix and Tko Group Holdings have come together and announced that it would be Netflix’s first step towards live sports. It is worth noting that the big move is going to be a 10-year deal and is valued at a whopping $5 billion.

Speaking about the deal, according to a report in CNBC, the Ott giant will have the option to exit the deal after five years. But they will also have an option...

Netflix is making the tag, as the streaming giant has just acquired exclusive broadcast rights to WWE Raw. The deal, worth $5 billion over the course of 10 years, will find the flagship show moving from the USA Network to Netflix in 2025.

This is just the latest major business deal related to the WWE over the past year, as the sports entertainment company merged with the UFC under Endeavor’s Tko Group Holdings in April 2023.

In a statement, Tko President and COO Mark Shapiro said of the deal, “This deal is transformative…It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years. Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.”

WWE president Nick Khan stated, “In its relatively short history, Netflix has engineered a phenomenal track record for storytelling…...

Netflix is spending more than $5 billion on a deal that’ll bring WWE‘s long-running live show Raw to its platform for an entire decade.

Raw has been airing on network TV since its debut in 1993, but starting in January 2025, it’ll be Netflix’s marquee live sports program, with new episodes airing weekly in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Latin America. Netflix will air about 150 hours of exclusive Raw content per year, per the Wall Street Journal.

The deal also includes international rights to WWE’s annual professional wrestling event WrestleMania, plus distribution for other WWE shows like Smackdown and Nxt.

This is one of Netflix’s biggest deals ever, and by far its largest deal for live sports to date. Raw‘s previous deal, with NBCUniversal‘s USA Network, was a five-year agreement valued at $1.3 billion. That deal, unlike Netflix’s, didn’t include any international distribution rights.

Netflix and WWE have announced a monumental partnership that will see the WWE’s long-running weekly show, Monday Night Raw, move to the streamer starting in January 2025. According to Deadline, the deal is set for ten years and worth more than $5 billion and will see Netflix become the exclusive home of Raw. The weekly, three-hour wrestling show has aired on broadcast cable television around the world for 31 years, the majority of them on its current channel, the USA Network. The deal also extends to Canada, the U.K., and Latin America, with other territories expected to be added over time. In addition, for those outside the U.S., the deal includes WWE’s other programming, including Smackdown, Nxt, documentaries, and the company’s Premium Live Events (PLEs), such as WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam. “This deal is transformative,” said Mark Shapiro, President and COO of Tko, the new public entity...

Monday Night Raw is headed to Netflix.

The WWE and Netflix have struck a deal that will see the WWE’s flagship show leave USA Network and move to the streaming giant in January 2025.

More from TVLine<em>Friday Night SmackDown</em> Leaving Fox, Returning to USA Network in 2024 — Plus, WWE Specials Coming to Nbcwwe Nxt Is Leaving USA Network for The CW — Find Out When!TVLine Items: John Boyega in Book of Eli Prequel, Bon Jovi Docuseries and More

Additionally, Netflix will become the exclusive home for all WWE programming (including SmackDown, Nxt, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble) outside the U.

“Raw” will become the streaming giant’s first regular live broadcast and first live sports rights.

There is a new champ in the world of sports entertainment, and it’s a streaming service coming off of the top rope. In a landmark deal to acquire the flagship professional wrestling program on television, Netflix has secured the rights to the WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” for 10 years, beginning in January 2025. The deal is reportedly worth $5 billion and will move the weekly show from the USA Network to streaming for the first time.

“Monday Night Raw” will air worldwide on Netflix beginning in 2025. The sports entertainment program will be the streamer’s first regular live program. The deal will last for 10 years and cost Netflix $5 billion. Sign Up $6.99+ / month netflix.com

The deal will see Netflix become the broadcast home for “Raw” in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Latin America...

After insisting publicly for years that it was not dead-set on pursuing sports rights, Netflix has made a landmark deal for one of linear TV’s staples, WWE’s Monday Night Raw.

Starting in January 2025, Netflix will now be the exclusive home of Raw in the U.S., Canada, UK and Latin America. Additional territories from Netflix’s footprint of more than 190 are to be added over time. USA Network had aired the Raw franchise and launched it in January 1993.

The deal is for 10 years and more than $5 billion, a person familiar with the terms told Deadline.

Along with the main Raw program, Netflix will become the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the U.S., including other weekly shows SmackDown and Nxt. It will also stream the company’s roster of live events like WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble and also make WWE documentaries, original series and...

Updated: “Monday Night Raw” is headed to Netflix.

In a major shakeup, WWE has struck a deal with Netflix that will see its flagship weekly live pro wrestling show begin airing exclusively on the streaming giant beginning in January 2025. That will mark the first time in its three-decade history that “Raw” has not aired new episodes on a linear television network.

The deal is valued at $500 million per year for 10 years. Netflix has the option to opt out after the initial five years and to extend for an additional 10 years. By comparison, sources also say WWE’s current five-year deal for “Raw” with NBCUniversal is worth approximately $250 million-$260 million per year.

“We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix,” said Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria. “By combining our reach, recommendations and fandom with WWE, we’ll be able to deliver...

In a major streaming deal, WWE Monday Night Raw will leave USA Network for Netflix beginning in January 2025, with the streaming giant also set to become the home of WWE content outside of the U.S.

The deal, which a source pegs at 10 years and is valued at about $5 billion, marks a significant expansion into live events for Netflix, which will now stream Raw live every Monday night in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America, 52 weeks per year, with other territories to be added over time.

Netflix will also be the exclusive home of WWE content outside of the U.S., including its live shows and premium events like Wrestlemania, as well as documentaries and original series.

Thus far, Netflix has only held occasional live events, like a Chris Rock stand-up comedy special or the ill-fated Love Is Blind reunion special.

That being said, Netflix has also...

Mixed martial arts outfit Professional Fighters League (Pfl) has acquired Bellator from Paramount Global, saying the deal includes top fighters and creates “a roster now equal in stature to UFC.”

Financial details weren’t disclosed. The deal comes after Paramount announced last month it plans to shut the sports operations at Showtime by the end of the year in an ongoing overhaul of the network.

All newly acquired Bellator fighters will become part of the Pfl platform and available to compete in Pfl fight franchises. As a result, the league said, Pfl and UFC now both showcase rosters that are 30% comprised of fighters who are top 25 independently world-ranked in their weight-classes, and Pfl with Bellator now has the best roster of women’s fighters in the world.

UFC is owned by Ari Emanuel-led Endeavor through Tko Holdings, a new public company that houses UFC and WWE. Pfl launched in...

Ivan Bart, the former president of Img Models who helped launch the modeling careers of the likes of Lauren Hutton, Carolyn Murphy, Stephanie Seymour and Gigi and Bella Hadid, died over the weekend following a short illness. He was 60.

The news was posted on his official Instagram account with a black-and-white photo of Bart. A caption on the photo reads, “Our world has lost one of the greats. Ivan Bart, 1963-2023.” No other details were immediately available.

He was named president of the agency in 2014, after it merged with WME. Under Bart’s leadership, Img Models also built the careers of Hailey Bieber, Alton Mason, Wisdom Kaye and others.

Throughout his career, Bart championed diverse casting and inclusion and is credited with breaking down barriers for models including Alek Wek, Hari Nef, Precious Lee, Zach Miko, Quannah Chasinghorse and Paloma Elsesser.

He also was a supporter of plus-size models. In...

Endeavor, the owner of WME, Img and a majority stake in Tko Group, is going to test the market — and is considering going private.

The company said Wednesday that it is initiating “a formal review to evaluate strategic alternatives for the Company.” Endeavor adds that it is not considering a sale of its stake in Tko, which owns and operates the UFC and WWE.

“Given the continued dislocation between Endeavor’s public market value and the intrinsic value of Endeavor’s underlying assets, we believe an evaluation of strategic alternatives is a prudent approach to ensure we are maximizing value for our shareholders,” said Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel in a statement.

Private equity firm Silver Lake, a major shareholder in the company with 71 percent of Endeavor’s voting power, added: “Silver Lake is committed to strategies that deliver value for all shareholders of Endeavor. To that end, Silver Lake is...

Oops, he did it again.

At 62, Ari Emanuel is now lord and master (or more precisely, CEO) of not one but two publicly held companies. Still, he could not resist bashing his longtime rivals at CAA when presented with a mic at the Bloomberg Screentime conference. And those weren’t the only comments that made some of his associates cringe.

Emanuel is credited with leading his company into expansion, often with pricey acquisitions. The logic of some of these deals escaped observers — Professional Bull Riders? Ok, but overcoming the odds, he transformed Endeavor into a public company in 2021. And in September, Tko Holdings, the combined UFC and WWE, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Other agents — Mike Ovitz comes to mind — yearned to transcend their client-servicing roles. Emanuel has achieved that dream, yet all these deals later, he is still apparently in the grip of his inner agent.

Investors cheered as Tko Group Holdings, the new parent company of UFC and WWE, clambered into the Wall Street ring.

Shares of Tko, which began trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, closed up 2.4% on the day, to $103.05 per share after opening at $102.

Meanwhile, Endeavor’s stock rose 1.1%, to $22.16/share, as investors reacted to the company’s move to carve UFC off into Tko. Endeavor properties include WME, Img and the Professional Bull Riders (Pbr), among other media assets. The gains came amid declines for major market indexes including the S&P 500 (-0.57%) and Nasdaq Composite (-1.04%).

Endeavor holds a 51% controlling interest in Tko and previous WWE shareholders hold 49%, including a 16.4% stake owned by WWE founder Vince McMahon. With the launch of Tko, WWE shares ceased trading on the NYSE, with a final closing price of $100.65/share on Monday.

Initially, Tko will be fully focused on integrating the operations of WWE and UFC,...

On Tuesday morning, Endeavor’s UFC business merged with the WWE to create a new sports firm, Tko Group Holdings.

But while the new company creates a combat sports and entertainment powerhouse (controlled by Endeavor and led by its leadership team), it also created a new, slimmed down Endeavor, a company with its WME agency business front and center.

Mark Shapiro, the president and COO of both Endeavor and Tko, says that was no mistake.

“Endeavor is sitting in a very pristine position,” Shapiro tells The Hollywood Reporter in an interview. “I mean, we’re at the epicenter of a large mobile, fast growing market. You know, the Tam [total addressable market] for sports, entertainment, music, live events and premium experiences is over $500 billion. And we’re walking into that world with a very strong balance sheet, lightly levered, healthy free cash flow, several capital return initiatives already in place vis a vie...

The marriage of UFC and WWE is complete: Endeavor and WWE announced the close of their deal to create Tko Group Holdings, merging the wrestling entertainment company and Mma leader UFC.

The hope is that by tag-teaming as a unified force, UFC and WWE together will become stronger than they could be separately. Tko together boasts more than 1 billion fans around the world, reaching viewers in 180 countries, and producing more than 350 annual live events. The company’s new website is at tkogrp.com.

Shares in Tko will begin trading Tuesday (Sept. 12) on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “Tko.” Endeavor holds a 51% controlling interest in the new company and existing WWE shareholders hold a 49% interest on a fully diluted basis. With the launch of Tko, WWE shares will cease trading on the NYSE; WWE closed up 2.7% Monday, to $100.65/share. The price of Tko shares is pegged to WWE’s stock price,...

Endeavor Group Holdings’ mixed martial arts promotion UFC and the sports entertainment powerhouse WWE are now officially a tag team, closing a mega-combination that they had unveiled in early April.

“We’re ready to fire out of the gate,” says Mark Shapiro, Endeavor’s president and COO, who will hold the same title at the combined company, Tko Group. With the companies combined, Endeavor and its leadership team will “now have a much stronger and firmer seat at the table. But our first mission is to fully capitalize on this insatiable demand for premium content and live events.”

The new, publicly listed company, whose stock will be trading on the New York Stock Exchange, consists of two “iconic, complementary” global sports and entertainment brands, UFC and WWE, and is officially called Tko Group Holdings. Its ticker symbol, Tko, is also a reference to the short version of the term “technical...

UFC, the mixed martial arts powerhouse, has officially tied the knot with Vince McMahon’s professional wresting juggernaut WWE, creating a new company called Tko Group that started trading on the New York Stock Exchange today.

Execs from both sides rang the NYSE opening bell to celebrate “a new premium sports and entertainment company serving more than one billion young and diverse fans, reaching viewers in 180 countries, and producing more than 350 annual live events,” according to UFC parent Endeavor, which is banking on new content, international expansion and an easy-to-understand investment thesis for Wall Street.

The deal was announced before market open this morning. Tko Group Holding shares are up 0.78% at $101.44 in mid-morning trade, off their highs but bucking a ho-hum market

It’s an epic moment as McMahon, who built the company his father founded into a powehouse and has been the face of WWE for decades, as well as its biggest shareholder,...

UFC and WWE are about to make their marriage official.

Endeavor Group Holdings and World Wrestling Entertainment said Thursday that the combination of UFC and WWE will be completed next week.

The two organizations will together form Tko Group Holdings, which will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “Tko,” on Tuesday.

The deal, which was announced in April, values UFC at $12.1 billion and WWE at $9.3 billion. Endeavor will hold a 51% controlling interest in the new company and existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49% interest in the new company.

WWE shares, which traders have been viewing as a proxy for the new stock, slipped 7 cents in morning trading, to $100.28, up 12% since the deal was revealed.

Endeavor shares added 30 cents to $21.81 as the broader market dipped. The stock is down 3% since the April announcement.

The move will mark the end of WWE’s status as a family-operated business,...

Endeavor is bringing together two of the world’s biggest combat-sports franchises — UFC and WWE — in a blockbuster merger announced Monday.

It’s a deal in which “one plus one equals three,” said Endeavor president and COO Mark Shapiro, who will serve in the same role for the merged UFC-wwe. The pact, valuing the combined company at roughly $21.4 billion, is anticipated to close in the second half of 2023.

The deal will result in an estimated $50 million to $100 million in annualized run-rate cost synergies, according to Endeavor, including by moving WWE to Endeavor’s back-office infrastructure. Shapiro said Endeavor, when it acquired UFC, realized $70 million in cost savings.

In addition, the deal to combine UFC with WWE will also benefit Endeavor by helping to trim the debt load that the company has carried since it went public in 2021. Following the close of the UFC-wwe deal, Endeavor will have a debt-to-equity ratio...

Oddball.

.

Australian family film Oddball, starring Shane Jacobson, is set to open the 2016 Tiff Kids Festival.

Australian feature film Blinky Bill: The Movie and short films Riceballs, Junction, Cinema Dhors, The Trophy Thief and The Supermarket will also be premiering at the festival, which is now in its 19th year. .

Oddball is a comedic feature based on a true story about a chicken farmer, his granddaughter and their mischievous dog saving fairy penguins from extinction in an Australian seaside town..

The festival wraps with its closing night film, the Canadian premiere of Little Door Gods, an animated 3D film from first-time feature director Gary Wang that was inspired by Chinese folklore..

The festival features a total of 139 films, comprising 28 features and 111 shorts hailing from 35 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Philippines, France, India, South Korea, and many more.

All screenings and events take place at Tiff Bell Lightbox...

by Seth Metoyer

MoreHorror.com

The first round of horror films have been announced for the Colorado based horror festival Telluride Horror Show. This years lineup looks sweet and includes premieres and a special screening of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas with director Q&A! Check the list of films below.

From The Press Release

The first wave of films is now live for the 2015 Telluride Horror Show, October 16-18 in picturesque Telluride, Colorado (elevation 8,750 ft.).

Most of the films will make their Colorado premieres at this year's festival or will screen fresh off their Fantastic Fest debuts. The festival will also feature a special screening of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas followed by a director Q&A.

Here's the complete lineup, which can also be found at http://telluridehorrorshow.com/films.html

Guests

Henry Selick

Guest Director

Henry Selick is an American stop-motion director, producer and writer...

Halloween is in less than two months, and Cavity Colors wants to help you get an early start on the festivities. Also: the lineup at the 2015 Telluride Horror Show and four posters from American Backwoods: Slew Hampshire.

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In just one week the fourth annual Telluride Horror Show kicks off in picturesque Telluride, Co, with Ben Ketai’s anticipated trapped-in-a-mine thriller Beneath rounding out the weekend.

Other films in the line-up include All Hallow’s Eve, a Halloween-based anthology that features the return of the demonic Art the Clown, who was first seen in the terrific short film Terrifier; Jesse T. Cook’s subversive and incredibly divisiveSeptic Man; and the World Premiere of Chemical Peel, directed by Grand Junction, Colorado, native Hank Braxtan.

Joining the fest will also be Guest Director Phil Tippett, who will be on hand to present a special sneak preview of Phil Tippett’s Mad God: Part 1, a surrealistic stop-motion nightmare featuring hundreds of detailed puppets. He will also present a special screening of his short film Mutantland.

For more info visit the official Telluride Horror Show website, "like" Telluride Horror Show on...