WWE & AEW heading for "potential disaster" in upcoming television negotiations - Reports
WWE is having tremendous success at the moment, and its competitor, All Elite Wrestling, has established itself as a viable alternative for wrestling fans.
However, the path for both companies could be murky for both companies moving forward in the ever-changing television landscape. Many folks are cutting the cord and ditching cable altogether for cheaper alternatives, causing some major companies to shift their strategy.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, the upcoming television negotiations for both organizations may be difficult. Meltzer noted that Disney CEO Bob Iger is trying to make deals with ESPN, as the worldwide leader in sports is looking to get out of the "spiraling" television rights game.
"The idea to me seems to be that ESPN wants to get out of the spiraling rights games by offering the key content producers points in the company with the assurance that they will stay on ESPN," he said.
Meltzer added that this could also mean disaster for most sports, including WWE, AEW, and UFC. The wrestling journalist stated that the organizations might no longer be able to rely on increased rights fees if the stations no longer have the means to pay for programming at a higher price.
"As we constantly talk about, the television business is rapidly changing and as more and more people no longer get cable, and cable carriage fees and advertising declines with them, the stations will no longer have the money to pay as much for programming. This spells potential disaster for every sport, as well as WWE, AEW, and UFC, in attempts to continually get more money each negotiation period," he added. [H/T: Ringside News]
JUST LIKE THE RATINGS! #WWE #Smackdown SmackDown Delivers Largest Viewership to Date for WWE on FS1
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P2+: 1.182M - Up 31% vs. last FS1 episode
18-49: 448K - Up 37% vs. last FS1 episode
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WWE merges with UFC's parent company Endeavor
Earlier this year, Vince McMahon returned to the company after being unanimously elected as Executive Chairman of the Board.
McMahon's return was said to help facilitate the merger between WWE and UFC's parent company, Endeavor. The merger announcement was made in April, and Endeavor now owns 51% of the controlling interest in the company.
The remaining 49% will be held by shareholders and individual investors. Endeavor and WWE formed a new entity called TKO Group-Holdings, and Triple H shared during the Money in the Bank press conference that the merger slowed down the process for NXT Europe.
The Stanford-based company is consistently pulling in excellent ratings, but that may not be the case if fans continue to seek alternatives to cable television. It will be fascinating to see how the upcoming rights negotiations play out as the entertainment industry evolves.
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