Felix Upton on April 23, 2023
WWE is going through a very interesting time in the company’s history. As a merger with the UFC goes down, they are also entering into another round of television rights talks. Now, a major player at the table will no longer be around.
Although WWE is cutting costs, they are still looking forward to a big television deal coming up. After all, those television contracts guarantee huge paydays for the company. This takes using relationships with those networks to lock down a substantial deal. It makes things a lot harder when there is someone new in the mix, especially at the CEO level.
CNBC reports that NBCU CEO Jeff Shell left his role after he admitted an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman with the company. In his statement on the matter, Jeff Shell announced his resignation.
“Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal. I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret. I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down, they are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them the last 19 years has been a privilege.”
Jeff Shell previously called WWE, “perfect” for Peacock. At this time, it is unknown if Shell’s departure will affect WWE’s upcoming television rights talks, but he was a huge advocate of having WWE on NBC Universal’s networks.
“(The streaming deal includes) thousands of hours of programming that were behind a paywall that we’ll now put up as a free service on Peacock, which will not only enhance the brand of WWE but we can monetize (through) advertising. We get the events that were behind the paywall that used to be pay-per-view to drive our $4.99 premium version of Peacock.”
This is a big deal for WWE as they enter into television rights talks for their new contracts. NBCU is a big partner, and now Jeff Shell, who is a big fan of having WWE on NBCU is now out of the picture.
We will have to see how this transpires in the weeks to come. For more information, keep it tuned with us at Ringside News.
What’s your take on this big shake-up at NBCU? Sound off in the comments!
April 23, 2023 7:26 pm
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