UFC has another banner year in revenue + earnings

TKO Group Holdings, the conglomerate that went public last fall after the merger of the UFC with the WWE, released its full 2023 financial results last week. Having reported on their SEC and investor reports for the first and second quarter of last year, I am once again only going to focus on what we learn about the UFC’s finances from their 8-K, 10-K and earnings call.

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The big takeaway is that everything was gold for the UFC, setting records in almost every category. They saw increases in their revenue (including increases in each of the four segments that make up revenue), an increase in their EBITDA, and, in some good news for their fighters, even an increase in their athlete costs AKA fighter pay.

REVENUE

In 2023, the UFC delivered record financial results once again. Total revenue increased 13%, from $1.140 billion to $1.292 billion, an increase of $152 million. A breakdown of the individual segments is as follows:

* Media rights and content fees were up 10%, from 2022, going up $76.2 million from $794 million to $871 million last year. “The increase in media rights and content fees was primarily related to higher domestic and international rights fees resulting from increases in contractual revenues, higher fees associated with international renewals and one additional pay-per-view event in 2023 as compared to the prior year period.”

* Live events revenue were up 34%, a $42.6 million increase to a record $168 million, driven by growth in ticket revenues and site fees. “The increase in live events revenue was primarily related to 5 additional events with a live audience (26 in 2023 as compared to 21 in the prior year) and higher site fees.” In 2021 they sold out 20 live events with seven of them now ranking among the top 20 highest grossing UFC events of all time.

* Sponsorship revenue were up $29.5 million over the previous year, an 18% increase to another record $196 million. This was driven by new brand partners and renewal increases.

* Consumer product licensing was up from $53.6 million in 2022 to $57.3 million last year.

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