-- TKO Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro appeared at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Monday where he spoke on some topics related to WWE, including the future of the company's premium live events domestically. The current deal with Peacock has one year left on it and Shapiro noted that both sides are "keen" to keep the partnership going:
"We will get into discussions soon, in the next quarter, when it comes to the PLE's. That deal comes up early to mid-part of 2026. Our conversations on our renewal start relatively soon. In speaking with all the powers at be at Comcast, they are keen to renew and we're excited to have those conversations. And by the way, Peacock has been a crazy good partner, we've been a huge driver of that platform, both in terms of acquisition and retention, and they are making it a priority, so we're keen to renew with them."
-- Shapiro did leave the door open for WWE programming in the United States to find a new home stating that "it might make sense to move elsewhere if the plan, not just the dollars, makes the best sense for the growth of our brand and the property" while also addressing whether there is a possibility of Netflix stepping in and adding PLEs to their arsenal, essentially making it a one-stop shop globally.
-- He also talked about PLE destinations and site fees and hinted that once they sell all those, they may look to use the same business model to sell Raw and Smackdown, though didn't expect anywhere the same sort of fees. On the topic of ticket sales, Shapiro delivered some relatively bad news to fans who are disheartened with the already high prices to secure seats for WWE events stating that the company still hasn't optimized generating revenues with those events. He also noted that by reducing the number of house shows WWE holds, they have increased their pricing power by driving up demand.
