TKO Group Holdings faced a significant setback in the first quarter of 2024, reporting a net loss of $249.5 million due to settling a pair of antitrust lawsuits against the UFC. The company reached a $335 million settlement to end the legal disputes, with plans to make three separate payments to the plaintiffs involved.
Despite the financial hit from the settlement, TKO exceeded Wall Street’s revenue expectations and showed continued growth in the quarter. UFC’s revenue increased by two percent year over year, reaching $313 million in the first quarter of 2024. TKO CEO Ari Emanuel expressed confidence in the company’s performance, citing record-setting live events, new brand partnerships, and media rights deals for WWE Raw.
In addition to UFC’s success, WWE also saw a revenue increase of six percent to $316.7 million for the quarter. TKO announced that WWE secured a deal with NBCUniversal to keep its flagship show, Monday Night Raw, on the USA Network for the rest of 2024 before moving to Netflix in 2025. Netflix paid a whopping $5 billion over 10 years for the rights to Raw starting in 2025.
TKO highlighted UFC’s achievements in the first quarter, including the success of UFC 300 as one of the most successful and highest-grossing events in UFC history. With a strong start to 2024 and positive financial results, TKO raised its full-year guidance and expressed confidence in delivering long-term value for shareholders.