Fans excited Vince McMahon might be working on a new promotion for FOX will be disappointed.
McMahon, who is mired in two civil suits, a possible federal criminal investigation (depending on whose lawyers you ask) and sitting in ccash like Scrooge McDuck (if that reference is too aged, how about Mr. Beast?), was rumored to have been talking with FOX about establishing a new wrestling promotion.
FOX just ended its run on Smackdown after several years, with the network disappointed by the promotion’s ratings. AEW was in talks for a show on the network, but that fell to the side after AEW ratings slipped over the past year.
McMahon could have been name and publicity at a discount, but people close to FOX say this isn’t happening (sources told SEScoops this over the past week. This information has also been reported by other sites). While someone may have entertained the notion as just as an idea at the network, sources close to the network said McMahon is absolutely a no-go, especially after the Grant and Ring Boy suits and the fallout of the Mr. McMahon documentary on Netflix.
FOX Sports is also mired in is own sex scandal with a former FOX Sports hairdresser suing the company alleging harassment, as well as a former anchor Julie Stewart-Binks accusing executive and (Nick Khan client) Charles Dixon of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
Warner Bros. Discovery to make hard play for UFC
Flashback to six months ago. Warner Bros. Discovery failed to match the deal Amazon Prime had made for NBA coverage, moving the league off Turner networks for the first time in ages. WBD challenged the deal in a lawsuit, but to no avail, despite having the best studio team in sports, they had no games to call.
WBD’s fortunates changed when the NBA 2024-25 season began in November to historically low ratings. Many blame it on the constant negativity of league alumni and analysts, calling out the league, its players and style of play. The NBA’s All-Star Weekend was panned, perhaps unfairly, especially in comparison to the NHL’s Four Nations tournament which featured some of the best hockey in years. Others believe fans haven’t found a team or player to identify with like the WNBA has in Caitlin Clark or the NFL has with the Kansas City Chiefs. Losing the deal was now a smart move, and now WBD has cash to shop. While it didn’t happen at the beginning of the season, the ludicrous trade of Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the L.A. Lakers was another blow.
Since losing the NBA deal, WBD has taken a hard look at luring Ultimate Fighting Championship from ESPN. The deal between ESPN and UFC runs out this year. TKO will be looking for money that rivals ESPN and what WWE got for moving to Netflix, and WBD has money to spend, if you consider the now and not the future, with homes dwindling so quickly among TV nets and cable.
Major League Baseball and ESPN announced it was ending its deal after the 2025 season, early, after ESPN wanted to pay less for baseball on its network. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he didn’t want to take less money because it would devalue the league when it tries to negotiate in future deals.
The problem for the MLB becomes the problem for anyone that’s off ESPN – losing the prime and biggest sports network. Having a presence on ESPN is bigger than any games they may air and how much they pay. Ask the NHL and NASCAR what life is like after they moved off the network. Studio shows, highlights, online articles tend to disappear for those not doing business with the Mouse and the Worldwide Leader.
UFC isn’t exactly in a dynasty of top stars. Ronda Rousey and Anderson Silva aren’t walking through that door. Neither is Conor McGregor, at least one that’s a decade younger. Being on ESPN is a great way to ride the waves of stars and draws that affect combat sports and pro wrestling. It’s the model that has served WWE well at times.
WBD will offer a lot, but will it be enough? TKO seems to look more at the cash end than celestial TV and cable presence (shareholders afterall). Good luck getting any league to leave ESPN after the bad press MLB got this past week.
AEW and WWE streaming wars are on different battlefields
AEW’s winning the early battle in streaming success since its shows have began airing on the MAX app starting this year, coinciding with its shows on TNT and TBS. While WWE has seen a steady fall from its debut episode. This was predicted in many ways, but the way streamers hold onto their numbers in a dragon sleeper makes it hard to know how well anyone is doing.
Netflix has a massively global audience, but WWE is putting all of its cards with RAW on the streaming table. AEW has shows on TNT and TBS, which are in around 50 million homes, but adding homes through MAX is more of a zero-sum gain. That’s if you believe MAX’s subscription numbers of 72 million in the U.S. and around 100 million worldwide.
WWE’s expected audience of 5 million per episode has fallen short many weeks, but it isn’t reflective of the quality of the show (or the gazillions the company is making), but of the Netflix world in which it lives. Major events will get big algorithm play from Netflix – WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble – but the algorithm becomes a fight between shows dueling it out on search week after week.
It doesn’t help WWE that its demographics don’t match well with the rest of the demos on Netflix. WWE would certainly love to get more of a push from the streamer on its search, but that’s likely not to happen unless things change at the company. Keep in mind Netflix paid billions for Friends re-runs.
Does this mean WWE is in trouble? Probably not. They get millions of viewers and WWE carried the last quarter for TKO, not UFC as usually expected. The company is moving into WrestleMania season and it’s locked in for at least five years, with Netflix having an option for an additional five at with a bigger paycheck for WWE if it takes it on.
WBD won’t release numbers on AEW, meaning we have to take their word for it (or we don’t, release the damn numbers), but says the show is one of the most consistent performing on MAX and rivals the top sports shows, which is interesting since AEW is earmarked as entertainment by the company. It’s certainly picked up more viewers with millions of more homes available, but the company has to hope its current run of good storytelling and shows continues and it can avoid anymore 2024s.
A lot can change and WWE’s biggest skill has been manuevering change in the ever evolving world of the web and streaming.
