Just recently, former Chairman Vince McMahon rejoins the WWE Board of Directors to negotiate a potential sale ahead of its media rights renewal in 2024. His latest statements add more weight to the question of whether will Disney buy WWE anytime soon.
CNBC reported that WWE has hired JPMorgan to advise on a potential sale and mentioned that Disney is one of the many companies that may be interested in purchasing WWE. The news of a potential sale caused WWE’s stock price to rise 17% on Friday
Disney and WWE are collaborating on a new reality series featuring superstars Bianca Belair and Montez Ford. In addition, Disney recently signed a short-term extension to keep WWE shows such as “RAW” and “NXT” available on Hulu in the United States until 2024. This deal was made to secure next-day streaming rights for these shows alongside linear media rights
Disney has also entered into other contracts with WWE for content in addition to the US deal with Hulu. One example is the agreement to bring the WWE Network to Disney+ Hotstar in Indonesia, which includes access to major weekly shows and premium live events like the upcoming “Royal Rumble”.
Acquiring WWE could be a major advantage for Disney, as the company could use WWE to boost its streaming services such as Disney+ or ESPN+ with new original sports entertainment programming every week. In addition, Disney could expand the WWE brand through its linear business, merchandising, and theme park businesses.
With so much going on between the two media giants, Disney and WWE are already collaborating on bringing wrestling shows to Hulu and Disney+ Hotstar, which demonstrates Disney’s interest in this type of content.
Notwithstanding, there are also plenty of other potential buyers of WWE that may eventually acquire the entertainment company. These include traditional studios such as Comcast, Fox, and Warner Brothers Discovery, as well as tech companies like Amazon and Netflix. Sporting companies like Endeavor and Liberty Media could also be interested. In today’s media landscape where IP and original programming are highly valued, WWE is likely to be attractive to many major streaming platforms.
So will Disney buy WWE eventually? We need to take this with a grain of salt eventually. Like the four corners of the wrestling ring, it is not yet certain that WWE will be sold, as Vince McMahon has also considered the possibility of taking the company private or simply trying to increase interest in its media rights for 2024. We can expect to learn more about the potential sale of WWE in the future.
So what do you think of these developments? Do you think the buyout will eventually happen? Is this good for both Disney and WWE? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: CNBC