Ari Emanuel doesn’t think TKO is heading for the auction block anytime soon. While plenty of people have wondered whether a company like Amazon, Comcast or another media giant could eventually buy WWE and UFC’s parent company, Emanuel says that isn’t even part of the conversation.
While speaking with Matt Belloni, Emanuel was asked during a lightning round who he thought the ideal buyer for TKO would be. Instead of naming a company, he immediately questioned the premise: “TKO?” When the idea of TKO eventually being sold was brought up, Emanuel didn’t hesitate to shut it down: “No, it won’t.”
The discussion then turned to possible buyers, but Emanuel wasn’t interested in entertaining any of them. Whether it was Paramount, Comcast or Amazon, his answer never changed.
“No. No. Not for sale. Never.”
Emanuel then explained why he’s so convinced TKO should stay exactly where it is. Looking back to 2016, he said he, Egon Durban, Mark Shapiro and Patrick Whitesell saw where sports media was heading long before many other people did. At the time, he recalled that many believed they were overpaying for sports-related assets, but he sees those deals very differently today.
“Here’s the great thing. In 2016, we—Egon Durban, Mark, myself, Patrick—saw where sports was going, saw where the streamers were going. At the time, people thought the value—we were crazy to pay what we did when we bought IMG.”
Looking back now, Emanuel believes those acquisitions turned out to be incredible value. He also believes sports properties are only going to become more valuable. Emanuel pointed to artificial intelligence as one reason, arguing that advances in technology could eventually give people more free time than they’ve ever had before.
“The two cheapest acquisitions of all time in the sports space. As my son Leo says to me, Thursday is baby Friday, Dad. With AI, probably Wednesday is going to be the baby Thursday. There’s going to be more free time than ever.”
He added that, in his opinion, continued economic growth combined with AI could also leave consumers with more money to spend.
“People, if we grow at 3% GDP, we’re going to have more money than we’ve ever had with AI, in my opinion. I agree with that take—all the bad things that could happen, annihilation, out of it.”
For Emanuel, that creates an even stronger future for live entertainment and sports because people will have more opportunities to go out and experience them.
“So, you’re sitting in a situation that there’s going to be more time for people to consume entertainment. We’re social animals. Go out, go to sporting events, consume sports. Sports is the greatest reality show, right, of all time.”
That led directly into why he believes TKO is such a unique company. Rather than representing individual clients who can eventually leave, TKO owns the sports properties themselves, something Emanuel sees as far more valuable.
“Owning sports assets. Now, people are trying to own teams. We own four leagues. It’s an incredible asset.”
By the end of the discussion, Emanuel made it clear he sees no scenario where that changes. As far as he and Egon Durban are concerned, TKO’s value is only increasing, not moving toward a sale.
“The value is only going up and to the right. And so Egon Durban, myself—I mean, there’s no chance that that’s happening. Zero.”
For years, there has been speculation about whether one of the world’s biggest media or technology companies could eventually acquire TKO. Emanuel clearly isn’t buying into any of it. From his perspective, owning major sports properties like WWE and UFC is exactly why the company has no interest in putting TKO up for sale.
Do you think Emanuel is right, or could the right offer eventually convince TKO’s owners to sell? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
