-- FOX CEO Lachlan Murdoch spoke at the Morgan Stanley Tech Media and Telecom conference earlier today and spoke of the company's interest in renewing the television rights deal for WWE Friday Night Smackdown, confirming that no discussions have yet taken place but that his team is ready to engage in talks once WWE is ready.
-- WWE is soon to enter the last year of the five-year agreement that was signed in 2018 and began in 2019 bringing the expiration date to the fall of 2024. WWE is being paid over $200 million annually under the terms of the deal but CEO Nick Khan has gone on record to state WWE will not be negotiating their TV agreements until they have sorted out a potential sale of the entire company, which he estimated could finish within three months.
"I think they've been great partners, they've been great partners throughout our partnership, our relationship. If they ultimately sell the business, I hope the acquirer... or I'm sure the acquirer will be as good a partner as they've been. I hope the management team stays intact because they've done a tremendous job.
From a rights point of view, we're focused on their rights renewal. We haven't engaged with them on the rights yet, we're ready to engage with them when they ask, when they're ready. But ultimately, our appetite for renewal depends on what happens with the rest of our sports portfolio."
