TKO Group Holdings faced a net loss in the first quarter of 2024 as a result of settling two antitrust lawsuits involving the UFC. However, the company remains positive about its future performance for the remainder of the year.
In a recent submission to the Securities and Exchange Commission, TKO disclosed a net loss of $249.5 million for the quarter, primarily stemming from a $335 million settlement agreed upon to resolve the antitrust disputes.
The settlement is awaiting court endorsement, with TKO anticipating making three payments totaling $335 million to settle the legal matters. The company intends to make two payments of $200 million in 2024 and a further $135 million in 2025.
Despite the net loss, TKO outperformed revenue predictions from Wall Street and displayed growth during the quarter. UFC’s revenue grew by two percent year-on-year, reaching $313 million in the first quarter of 2024 compared to $306.7 million in 2023.
TKO’s CEO Ari Emanuel expressed confidence in the company’s performance, highlighting landmark live events, new partnerships, and media rights agreements for WWE Raw in 2024. The company has revised its 2024 full-year guidance based on the momentum and financial outcomes from the initial quarter.
Emanuel also touched on the settlement made to resolve the UFC antitrust litigations, underlining TKO’s dedication to delivering lasting value for shareholders through the fusion of UFC and WWE.
The rise in UFC’s revenue was primarily propelled by sponsorships and live events, though there was a decline in media rights revenue due to fewer events held during the quarter in comparison to 2023.
WWE witnessed a six percent revenue increase to $316.7 million in the quarter. TKO unveiled a new deal with NBCUniversal for Monday Night Raw to stay on the USA Network for the remainder of 2024 before transitioning to Netflix in 2025 for $25 million.
Netflix secured the broadcasting rights for Raw starting in 2025 by committing $5 billion over a decade.
Additionally, TKO highlighted UFC’s accomplishments with more live events in the initial quarter, notably UFC 300, which proved to be one of the most prosperous and highest-earning events in UFC’s history.
