Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel makes a MAJOR announcement about the future of WWE’s flagship show Monday Night Raw

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel makes huge announcement with regards to the media rights of Monday Night Raw.

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel makes a MAJOR announcement about the future of WWE’s flagship show Monday Night Raw

Ari Emanuel and WWE Raw (via Bloomberg)

Around a month ago, WWE and UFC made their merger official, which ultimately led to the formation of TKO Group Holdings. Days after the merger, there have been talks regarding WWE’s media rights negotiations. In a recent conference, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel made a huge announcement that could change the landscape of Monday Night Raw going forward.

Emanuel appeared at the Bloomberg Screentime Conference. Speaking at the conference, the TKO CEO indicated that he is open to moving Monday Night Raw to some other night of the week. Emanuel stated that if WWE receives better media rights for their flagship show, Raw may be switching to Tuesday or Thursday night.

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Ari Emanuel said, “We’re 52 weeks a year, right? And we’re flexible. You want us Thursday night? You want us Tuesday night? I don’t have any of those scheduling issues and that churn issue because we’re the full year. It’s so much different than any other sport because then people churn out. We do not have that. Our fans are loyal, they stick around and they move.” (H/T Ringside News)

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He further pointed out that unlike any other sport that runs on a seasonal basis and goes through a fluctuating churn rate, WWE tends not to face the same problem. He noted that the WWE fans are loyal, and the product is continually running every week of the year. Thus, he believes that if the show moves to Thursday or Tuesday, viewers are still going to pour in.

Related: Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel implicitly blames a top WWE Executive for the sharp fall in TKO’s stocks

Ari Emanuel ascribes Vince McMahon as one of the reasons behind the drop in TKO’s stock

As reported above, Monday Night Raw’s media rights deal with NBCU is up next year. SmackDown will be brought back to the USA Network in September 2024. Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel noted that the red brand could be moving to another network. However, despite the merger and huge deal offers, Emanuel claimed that TKO’s stock price plummeted, and Vince McMahon is partially to blame for it.

Vince McMahon and Ari Emanuel
Vince McMahon and Ari Emanuel (via Cageside Seats)

Speaking on Bloomberg’s Screentime Conference via Inside The Ropes, Ari Emanuel weighed in on Raw, WWE Network, TKO and more. Speaking of TKO, he said, “I think there’s three things that happened. One, the reason the stock is down is they thought Raw was the best package. I saw 40 percent increase which was in line with expectations… Two, the P.F.L. situation and three, probably Vince in our deal, wanted to be able to put, at any point in time, his stock.”

Emanuel stated three reasons that mainly contributed to the fall in stock rates. Firstly, he pointed out that Raw moving away from NBC after the current media rights expire was one of the reasons. Secondly, he cited Saudi Arabia’s funding in PFL as one of the other reasons behind the fall in stock.

Third, Vince McMahon, who is being investigated by FEDs over a hush money scandal, is one of the reasons, according to the Endeavor CEO. There were also reports earlier that people within TKO are of the belief that McMahon’s involvement in TKO attracts negative publicity for the group.

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