Nick Khan Says WWE Is 'In A Good Position' Heading Into Sales And Media Rights Talks

Even with WrestleMania 39 looming large on the horizon for WWE, the impending sale of WWE sucks up a lot of the oxygen in conversations about the company. But CEO Nick Khan feels good about where things sit for WWE at the moment, confident that the top wrestling company is in the right place to make its next move. "If you look at the ratings and relevancy of our product, we like to think we're in a good position," Khan told the Sports Business Journal, adding the collective belief there is plenty of money out there for them.

According to WWE's internal numbers, the company claims "WWE Raw" has grown 9% in viewership since last year, while "WWE SmackDown" has grown 8%, and "NXT" saw a 5% bump. As for premium live events like WrestleMania and SummerSlam, viewership has increased by an average of 53% since WWE partnered with the streaming platform Peacock. WWE has also claimed that its most recent Elimination Chamber and Royal Rumble events were the highest-grossing editions ever held of each.

WWE's media rights deals with Comcast and Fox respectively for both "Raw" and "SmackDown" are up in 2024, putting WWE on the clock to either negotiate for renewals or explore other options. But Khan doesn't seem too worried about those talks, expecting to get the ball rolling shortly on those matters. 

"We look to get into the heat of the conversation first with our incumbents by the middle of the year or so," he stated. "Depending on the timing and how strategic alternatives shake out, it will either be middle of the year getting hot and heavy, or sometime shortly thereafter."