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TKO Group Holdings, Inc.
TKO runs two of the biggest live sports and entertainment businesses in the world — WWE wrestling and UFC mixed martial arts — and makes money by selling tickets, TV and streaming rights, and sponsorships.
TKO Group Holdings owns two of the most famous fighting and entertainment brands on the planet: UFC, the mixed martial arts powerhouse, and WWE, the professional wrestling giant. Both do essentially the same thing in different ways — they stage live events that people watch in arenas and on screens, and then they sell the right to show those events to broadcasters and streaming services around the world.
The money comes from a few clear places. First, media rights: TV networks and streamers pay huge sums for exclusive access to UFC fights and WWE shows like Monday Night Raw and WrestleMania, because live sports are some of the few things people still watch at the moment they happen rather than on demand. Second, live events: ticket sales and arena shows bring in cash, and UFC's pay-per-view model charges fans directly for the biggest fights. Third, sponsorships and partnerships: brands pay to be attached to these events and athletes. TKO also sells merchandise and runs WWE's consumer products business. The company was formed in 2023 when WWE and UFC merged under one roof, backed by Endeavor, the talent and entertainment agency run by Ari Emanuel. The logic was simple: combine two premium live-content businesses and use their combined scale to negotiate richer media deals. In 2024, TKO sold WWE's Raw to Netflix in a major deal, a sign of how streaming platforms are now willing to pay up for live programming. The merger also brought cost savings, as the two companies shared back-office functions.
What makes TKO strong is the scarcity of what it sells. There are only so many weekends, and live combat sports and wrestling draw loyal, engaged audiences that advertisers and streamers want. The risk side is real too: the business depends heavily on a small number of big media contracts and on star fighters and wrestlers staying healthy and popular. The company has also faced scrutiny over how it handles its athletes and over legal issues tied to its predecessor businesses, including a lawsuit involving former WWE boss Vince McMahon. Still, TKO sits at the center of a simple, valuable business: it owns the ring, the octagon, and the cameras, and the world's broadcasters keep paying to get inside.
Saved answer · last researched 12 Nov 2026