How Much Is WWE Making From NBC Deal This Year?, WWE Reportedly Meets With FOX

Sports Business Journal has a story here about UFC's contract with FOX ending next year. It was noted that UFC is looking for an increase on their current $120 million per year deal in the neighborhood of $450 million per year, while FOX was prepared to offer around $200 million per year.

As noted, WWE's TV deals with NBC Universal, which includes RAW and SmackDown (as well as Tribute To The Troops), expire on September 30, 2019. During the third quarter 2017 financial call, WWE Chief Strategy and Financial Officer George Barrios said that the company hopes to announce their U.S. distribution plans much earlier, between May 2018 and September 2018, and negotiations will start next year. WWE's current contract with NBC Universal will generate $180 million this year.

In the Sports Business Journal article, it was noted that top WWE executives, including Barrios and Triple H, met with FOX executives earlier this summer as part of a WWE road show where they also met with CBS, Disney, Amazon and YouTube to showcase their programming. WWE has worked with FOX in the past, airing two episodes of Saturday Night's Main Event in 1991 and 1992. It was noted that "a channel like FS1 [FOX's sports network] could look at WWE as acceptable replacement programming in case it loses UFC rights."

WWE can't officially negotiate with other networks regarding rights fees or contract details because their exclusive negotiating period with NBC doesn't expire until spring of 2018.

WWE Monday Night RAW has been on the USA Network for most of its near-25 year run, outside of moving to TNN / Spike TV in September of 2000 for five years. SmackDown aired on several other networks since debuting in 1999, including UPN, CW, MyNetworkTV and Syfy before moving to the USA Network in January of 2016.

Source: Sports Business Journal