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Group: News
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TKO
Group
UFC
WWE
WWE.com
- Corporate
01/04/2024
TKO
MERGES UFC® AND WWE® GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS TEAMS
TO CREATE SPORTS MARKETING POWERHOUSE
Combined
Unit to Offer Blue-Chip Brands Unprecedented Integration
within Two of the Worlds Most Iconic Sports
and Entertainment Properties
NEW
YORK, Jan. 04, 2024 KO Group Holdings, Inc.
(NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company,
today announced that it has combined the UFC and WWE
global partnerships teams into one unit, providing
brands with access to one of the most formidable sports
marketing portfolios in the world.
UFC
and WWE, which collectively serve more than one billion
young and diverse fans in 170 countries, provide brand
partners unparalleled scale and reach across multiple
platforms, including premium live events, original
content, and digital media. Further powered and enhanced
by the Endeavor flywheel, the companys global
infrastructure that also includes IMGs dynamic
sales teams around the world, UFC and WWE together
can offer marketers significantly expanded inventory,
vastly increased brand visibility, extensive international
reach, and unique integration opportunities across
UFC and WWE premier content.
Grant
Norris-Jones, who has played a key role in driving
UFCs global partnerships to six consecutive
years of record revenue, has been elevated to lead
the integrated unit as Executive Vice President and
Head of Global Partnerships for TKO, which includes
the entirety of UFC and WWE properties. Norris-Jones
will work alongside Lou Koskovolis, who is also taking
on an expanded role as TKOs Executive Vice President
of Global Partnerships. Together, they will focus
on delivering unique, authentic integrations for TKOs
corporate partners. This new joint effort will further
benefit from additional support and collaboration
with the Endeavor Partnerships team to maximize value
for brands across the entire Endeavor portfolio of
assets.
With
partnership sales, activations, and operations teams
in New York, Las Vegas, Stamford, Conn., London, Sao
Paulo, Sydney, Shanghai, and Toronto, the newly combined
unit will focus on creating new revenue opportunities
and brand integrations across UFCs and WWEs
must-watch live and original content.
Since
Endeavor acquired UFC in 2016, UFCs global partnerships
business has become a significant growth area,
said Andrew Schleimer, Chief Financial Officer, TKO,
and we believe WWEs partnerships business
has similar potential. Together, UFC and WWE create
a sports marketing powerhouse, with hundreds of live
events per year and a reach thats equal to,
or better than, the worlds biggest sports properties.
The newly integrated global partnerships team will
offer premium brands the opportunity to integrate
and activate within UFCs and WWEs extraordinarily
popular content to engage their massive fan bases
around the world.
In
recent years, UFC has partnered with brands that are
consumer product and category leaders, including Anheuser-Busch,
Crypto.com, DraftKings, Jose Cuervo, Monster Energy,
PRIME Hydration, Timex, and VeChain.-
In
addition, WWE has worked with dozens of blue-chip
brands across its roster of promotional assets. Over
the last year, WWE has activated with Applebees,
General Mills, Mattel, Netflix, PepsiCo, Pizza Hut,
Slim Jim, and Snickers.
About
TKO
TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO) is a premium
sports and entertainment company that comprises UFC,
the worlds premier mixed martial arts organization,
and WWE, an integrated media organization and the
recognized global leader in sports entertainment.
Together, our organizations reach more than 1 billion
TV households in approximately 170 countries, and
we organize more than 350 live events year-round,
attracting over one million fans. TKO is majority
owned by Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EDR),
a global sports and entertainment company.
About
UFC®
UFC® is the worlds premier mixed martial
arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million
fans and 243 million social media followers. The organization
produces more than 40 live events annually in some
of the most prestigious arenas around the world while
broadcasting to over 900 million TV households across
more than 170 countries. UFCs athlete roster
features the worlds best MMA athletes representing
more than 80 countries. The organizations digital
offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the
worlds leading streaming services for combat
sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO)
and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more
information, visit UFC.com
and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC and @UFC on X,
Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok: @UFC.
About
WWE®
WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), is an
integrated media organization and the recognized global
leader in sports entertainment. The company consists
of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver
original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience.
WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment
on its television programming, premium live events,
digital media, and publishing platforms. WWEs
TV-PG programming can be seen in more than 1 billion
homes worldwide in 25 languages through world-class
distribution partners including NBCUniversal, FOX
Sports, TNT Sport, Sony India and Rogers. The award-winning
WWE Network includes all premium live events, scheduled
programming and a massive video-on-demand library
and is currently available in more than 180 countries.
In the United States, NBCUniversals streaming
service, Peacock, is the exclusive home to WWE Network.
Additional information on WWE can be found at wwe.com
and corporate.wwe.com.
Media
Man
Media
Man Int Blog: "Sports Marketing Powerhouse"
official; WWE and UFC combo
The
UFC and WWE global partnerships teams have officially
become one in its pitch to provide brands with access
to one of the most formidable sports marketing
portfolios in the world.
Sports
and entertainment company, TKO Group, announced the
news this after the MMA (mixed martial arts) promotion
and the professional wrestling based Goliath merged
under the new company late last year.
Per
media statement TKO said the move to join the teams
will offer marketers expanded inventory, increased
brand visibility and international reach.
Grant
Norris-Jones will lead the new unit as Executive Vice
President and Head of Global Partnerships for TKO
(including all UFC and WWE entities), while Lou Koskovolis
will take on the expanded role as TKOs Executive
Vice President of Global Partnerships.
Since
Endeavor acquired UFC in 2016, UFCs global partnerships
business has become a significant growth area,
TKOs chief financial officer, Andrew Schleimer,
said.
And
we believe WWEs partnerships business has similar
potential. Together, UFC and WWE create a sports marketing
powerhouse, with hundreds of live events per year
and a reach thats equal to, or better than,
the worlds biggest sports properties.
The
newly integrated global partnerships team will offer
premium brands the opportunity to integrate and activate
within UFCs and WWEs extraordinarily popular
content to engage their massive fan bases around the
world.
The
UFC is currently preparing for its highly anticipated,
pub and cafe talk fodder UFC 300 event in Vegas in
April, while the WWEs February premium live
event, Elimination Chamber, is set to go ahead at
Perths Optus Stadium on 24 February.
WrestleMania
Season has come early for many fans around the world.
2024 may end up being the biggest year in history
for the WWE in most boxes including the bottom line,
as well as excitement, perhaps equal to the very first
WrestleMania back in 1985. This is cinema!
Media
Man
WWE
PLE's 2024
WWE
Royal Rumble
January
27.
Tropicana
Field
St.
Petersburg, Florida
WWE Elimination Chamber: Perth
February
24.
Optus
Stadium
Perth,
Western Australia, Australia
WWE
WrestleMania 40
April
6, April 7.
Lincoln
Financial Field
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
WWE Backlash: France
May
4.
LDLC
Arena
Décines-Charpieu,
Greater Lyon, France
WWE Money in the Bank
July
6.
Scotiabank
Arena
Toronto,
Ontario, Canada
WWE Bash in Berlin
August
31.
Mercedes-Benz
Arena
Berlin,
Germany
Media
Man
Pro
Wrestling News
Wrestling
Observer Covers WWE and Japanese Pro Wrestling Connection
- April 2024
Paul
Levesque and perhaps Nick Khan are looking at Japanese
allies going forward with the step one with All Japan
this week and are looking for a womens group
ally as well. Obviously there is an All Japan/NXT
alliance with Charlie Dempsey going there this week
and Katsuhiko Nakajima, whose style is the farthest
thing from what WWE does, talking about defending
the Triple Crown here. There has been talk internally
of them trying to make another go with New Japan,
now that Hiroshi Tanahashi is president. With AEW
having Forbidden Door which has been a major success
for both sides the past two years, that would be a
key factor in play for continuing the relationship
with AEW, plus AEW allows its top stars to go to major
New Japan events both in the U.S. and Japan.
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