Nick Khan Comments On WWE Media Rights – “There’s Plenty Of Money Out There For Us”

Since Vince McMahon forced his way back onto WWE’s Board of Directors in January 2023, the business side of the pro wrestling industry has come to the fore.

It is widely believed that McMahon’s return is to help facilitate a sale of the company with a host of suitors, including the Saudia Arabia Public Investment Fund, being mentioned as potential bidders.

Speaking to Sports Business Journal, WWE CEO Nick Khan discussed the negotiations for the company’s media rights and gave a rough timeline on when business will really pick up with them:

“If you look at the ratings and relevancy of our product, we like to think we’re in a good position. We look to get into the heat of the conversation first with our incumbents by the middle of the year or so. Depending on the timing and how strategic alternatives shake out, it will be either be middle of the year getting hot and heavy, or sometime shortly thereafter.”

Khan noted that despite WWE’s rights coming up around the same time as both the NBA and NASCAR, he believes there will be enough money for the company to get its fair share:

“We believe there’s plenty of money out there for us.”

As far as a potential sale of WWE goes in terms of media rights, Nick Khan concedes that it is the trickiest thing to consider in negotiations and that whoever purchases the promotion will be expected to honour those deals:

“That’s probably the trickiest of all the parts, but one thing that all potential buyers know is that the rights that Fox and NBCU negotiated for separately will obviously have to be adhered to and respected with all sorts of good faith attached to that.”