During Thursday’s Morgan Stanley Tech Media and Telecom conference, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch revealed that the company had not initiated any discussions with WWE regarding a new media rights deal. However, Murdoch expressed the company’s willingness to negotiate whenever WWE approaches them about it.
Murdoch said:
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.
In 2018, WWE secured a five-year agreement with Fox for the broadcasting rights of SmackDown, which officially moved to the network on October 4, 2019. The premiere episode featured Brock Lesnar defeating Kofi Kingston in seven seconds to become the new WWE Champion. According to sources, WWE is earning approximately $205 million annually from this deal, which is expected to end in 2024.
However, in January, WWE CEO Nick Khan revealed that the company would not discuss media rights deals until after a possible sale. He later hinted in February that such a sale could be finalized within as little as “three months.”
