Founder of Anthem Sports discusses WWE's potential sale
WWE's preparations for its eventual sale have caught the eye of some of the biggest names in the sports and entertainment world. One of those is the parent company of frenemy promotion IMPACT Wrestling.
Anthem Sports & Entertainment purchased a majority stake in TNA back in 2017 and has worked feverishly to revamp and restructure the complicated brand. Anthem Sports & Entertainment is now one of the many who are paying close attention to the ongoing saga as it pertains to WWE seeking a potential buyer.
Speaking today with Bloomberg Markets, Anthem Sports & Entertainments Founder and CEO Leonard Asper touched on several topics regarding Vince McMahon's company. This included the nuances of WWE's content strategy and how the rise of All Elite Wrestling has played a role in it:
"We’re watching it closely. It’s a hot area right now and I’m glad we’re in it. It is the example of a multi-headed beast and in a great way. They sell their content to third parties, they have their own direct to consumer app, they have their own free distribution of content. It’s one where the talent drives a lot of what the success ratio is. All Elite Wrestling came along and bought a bunch of wrestlers from WWE. There is a little bit of talent war going on there," said Asper.
Asper also discussed the type of buyer who would make the most sense to purchase Vince McMahon's company, name-dropping some of the biggest players in the industry. He also noted the possible risks of "private equity guys" purchasing the company rather than a larger media company:
"I think whoever buys WWE, they will probably take it to a new level, especially if they are a strategic media company. Amazon, Disney, they have a whole ecosystem of how to build revenue from content. If private equity guys want to buy it, it’s going to get cost cuts and that usual thing, they’ll leverage up and do what they do. If a strategic media company buys it, I’d back that strategic media company because that’s a great franchise.” (h/t NoDQ)
As a subsidiary of Anthem, TNA officially rebranded as IMPACT Wrestling in 2017 and has since stabilized and seriously thrived, with everything from the company's content, roster, and reputation improving dramatically. As of this writing, there seems to be no evidence that Anthem is entertaining the prospect of purchasing WWE.
WWE's quest to seek a potential buyer went into high gear last week as Vince McMahon returned to the company, being unanimously voted in by the company's board of directors to serve as Executive Chairman. Almost simultaneously, his daughter Stephanie McMahon resigned as the company's co-CEO.
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WWE CEO Nick Khan makes it clear that Vince McMahon is "the boss" of the company
During a recent interview on the Bill Simmons podcast, current CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Nick Khan addressed an array of topics, including McMahon's return from "retirement".
Khan stated that despite how those outside the company may have seen things, he always saw Vince McMahon as the "one boss" in the company.
“When you're on the inside, you see things that may be coming. My thought was that there’s only one boss in the company, and that ain’t me," Nick Khan said.
Nick Khan speaks on Vince McMahon returning to WWE
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Khan discussed Vince McMahon's strategy of returning to the company in the manner in which he did. Specifically, the media veteran claimed that McMahon's timing was smart, as he came back just long enough past the initial incident when it was no longer fresh in people's minds.
Additionally, Khan noted that McMahon using a majority stake in WWE to muscle his way back into the company was savvy.
Who do you think will buy WWE? Let us know your thoughts and predictions in the comment section below!