TKO’s Ari Emanuel & Mark Shapiro Wanted To Get Rid Of Old PPV Model, Shapiro Describes It As ‘Antiquated’

TKO heads speak about the new deal.

A deal has been announced that will bring UFC Premium Live Events to the Paramount Plus service. Following the announcement, TKO President Ari Emanuel and TKO Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro joined CNBC’s Squawk on the Street to discuss the deal.

Emanuel shared a note that the deal was closed in 48 hours.

“Well, it was the marketplace that was the bidder, and many different configurations,” Emanuel said.“It came together in 48 hours after it was multiple players for different configurations of our content, pay-per-views, Fight Nights. As you know, we have 13 pay-per-views, 30 Fight Nights, and once his deal closed, they jumped in very quickly and Mark and team after we kind of figured out the economics, all the other stuff, Mark and team figured out…”

Both Shapiro and Emanuel stated that they wanted to get rid of the old pay-per-view model. Shapiro went on to describe it as ‘antiquated’ and a barrier for their fans to get to the product.

Emanuel: “The business of TKO for Mark and I is kind of purpose-built for where streaming and the — Mark has said, Netflix, they want big events, so, we’re gonna do the boxing event in September, and they have it (WWE) internationally. ESPN wanted a big event. Our big event, which is our PLEs domestically, they got now. David (Ellison) wants to build his streaming service, we wanna broadcast. We wanted to get rid of the old model, pay-per-view. That’s what TKO, as we’ve envisioned it, a long time is built –“

Shapiro: “It’s antiquated. It’s just an antiquated model. What’s on pay-per-view these days? Once in a while, a big-time boxing match that starts in the middle of the night, and/or maybe some movies on DIRECTV. It’s an antiquated model. It’s a wall, it’s a barrier at the end of the day for our fans to get our product. This will be well received by our athletes, by our fans and that was crucially important to Dana White.”

WWE is under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella, and a deal was made official to bring WWE Premium Live Events to ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service beginning in 2026.

If the quotes in this article are used, please credit CNBC’s Squawk on the Street with an H/T to Fightful for the transcriptions.