AEW President Tony Khan, WWE President Nick Khan, and Endeavour CEO Ari Emanuel, among others, have been included in Variety’s prestigious ‘Dealmakers’ list of 2024.
Here are the specifics of their recognition:
Tony Khan, the head of All Elite Wrestling, marked the five-year anniversary of AEW’s launch by finalizing a lucrative multi-year media rights agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery. This contract, which reportedly brings in 5 million annually, mandates the broadcasting of AEW’s programs and events on TBS and TNT and streaming on Max. With an estimated valuation surpassing billion, AEW is now ranked as the third most valuable combat sports company globally. Speaking of the contract, Khan stated, “Our new arrangement signifies that AEW will make history as the first professional wrestling promotion to simulcast events weekly on top cable channels and a top streaming platform.”
Next on the list are Ariel Emanuel, Nick Khan, Mark Shapiro, and Andrew Schleimer from TKO. Ari Emanuel is the CEO of TKO, the same company where Nick Khan is President and Mark Shapiro is President & COO, with Andrew Schleimer as its CFO. Last year, Endeavor integrated Ultimate Fighting Championship with World Wrestling Entertainment under TKO Group Holdings.
This leadership quartet concluded a .2 billion, decade-long deal in January 2024, making Netflix the exclusive platform for WWE’s primary show “Raw” in multiple territories, including the U.S., Canada, U.K., Latin America, among others, kicking off in January 2025. This arrangement ensures virtually immediate access to 100% of WWE’s content to approximately 80% of international jurisdictions, with remaining access becoming available as existing agreements lapse. As Schleimer notes, “While the money is extraordinarily important, the downstream impact and ancillary benefits to being with the distributor and just south of 300 million homes globally were something that got us very excited.”
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