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The biggest obstacle to any potential sale of WWE is Vince McMahon himself. Addressing that very point head on, McMahon has strong-armed his way back to the helm of the company and body-slammed a few directors.

Why it matters: Speculation around whether WWE would be put up for sale is now a reality, with McMahon taking the reins and committing to a review of strategic alternatives. He's also committed to leading WWE's media rights negotiations.

Of note: WWE should have no shortage of interested suitors, with Comcast being a strong candidate.

Comcast has a $1 billion streaming deal with the company for WWE Network, and NBCUniversal's relationship with WWE spans nearly three decades of telecasting "Raw" on USA Network.

Other potential companies that analysts have mentioned in recent months include Disney, Amazon and even Apple. Those companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Comcast declined to comment.

By the numbers: WWE’s stock skyrocketed this morning, by more than 20% and climbed above $88 a share, a price it hasn’t hit since late 2018. The company's current market value is around $6.5 billion. 

Driving the news: McMahon announced in a press release yesterday that he has elected himself as executive chairman of the company and that he has appointed former WWE co-presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios to the board. He did so via a written consent order.

A written consent order is a vehicle that allows the majority owner of a company to take such action and to make it effective immediately. McMahon owns 81% of WWE.

Of note: In a filing this morning, the company said directors JoEllen Lyons Dillon, Jeffrey Speed and Alan Wexler were ousted from the board. 

After the filing, the company issued a press release saying Ignace Lahoud and Man Jit Singh have resigned from the board, effective immediately. 

Vince's daughter, Stephanie, and Nick Khan, both of whom have been running WWE as co-CEO since McMahon retired, appear to be safe.

“WWE has an exceptional management team in place, and I do not intend for my return to have any impact on their roles, duties or responsibilities,” McMahon said in a statement yesterday. 

The big picture: Even in retirement, no sale was ever going to happen without McMahon's blessing given his outsize shareholder power. This move allows him to assert more control over that process.

McMahon's return also comes ahead of WWE's media rights negotiations with NBCUniversal and Fox for its two flagship TV programs, "Raw" and "Smackdown." 

Be smart: Sale rumors have swirled ever since Khan was hired as president in 2020.

Khan is no stranger to dealmaking. He joined after eight years at CAA, where he was co-head of the TV department. He represented WWE in its media rights talks, including the move of the "Smackdown" franchise from NBCUniversal to Fox.

Upon joining, Khan and Vince McMahon oversaw a near-total remake of WWE's media division and began pursuing other media deals, including the landmark WWE Network deal. 

Khan hinted last year during an interview on Matt Belloni’s “The Town” podcast that NBCU makes sense as a suitor: "What does NBCU/Comcast lack that they need? And I think it’s a factual statement: They don’t have the intellectual property that some other companies have."

1 big thing: WWE puts up "for sale" sign

Vince McMahon. Photo: Michael N. Todaro/Getty Images

NetEase, one of China’s largest video game publishers, has acquired Canadian studio SkyBox Labs in a move that continues the Chinese company's international expansion, Axios Gaming's Stephen Totilo writes.

Why it's the BFD: With heavy investment in game companies outside of China, NetEase and larger local rival, Tencent, are trying to reshape a games industry long dominated by firms based in Japan, North America and Europe.

Zoom in: Both NetEase and Tencent are diversifying their portfolios beyond China's massive mobile-centric gaming market by tapping into the console and PC gaming scenes that thrive in Japan and the West — even as those non-Chinese companies partner with both to make inroads into China’s own mobile scene.

Between the lines: NetEase's veteran Canadian team has largely worked as a support studio for mega-games such as Microsoft’s Halo Infinite and Bethesda’s Fallout 76.

In announcing the deal today, NetEase said it expected SkyBox to continue to support big-budget releases with "current and future partners."

Of note: The SkyBox deal extends a provocative streak of gaming investments for an unmistakably ambitious NetEase.

A year ago, NetEase poached an all-star game creator from Sega to build a Tokyo-based studio around him, then did the same with a top Capcom producer in November.

It set up teams in Western game dev hotbeds, announcing new studios in Austin and Seattle while putting top developers from Ubisoft in charge of its studio in Montreal.

And in August, it purchased French mega-studio Quantic Dream, which is working on a major Star Wars game.

Its most prominent Western release in 2022: Diablo Immortal, a mobile game developed for Activision Blizzard (Though it failed to renew its deal with Activision Blizzard to continue to publish the American company's big Blizzard-label games in China).

The big picture: Gaming investment and M&A has been frenzied the last couple of years, but the lengthy time it takes to produce hit games means there’s been lots of sowing but little reaping yet.

2. The BFD: Game publisher's global expansion

Photo of NetEase, one of China’s largest video game publishers

Adapted from Sportico; Note: Only includes deals worth over $50 million. Chart: Axios Visuals

YouTube's new NFL Sunday Ticket deal ranks as the third most expensive media rights deal in major professional sports by annual value, tied with Fox's NFL deal.

3. Charted: The sports media machine

OpenAI, the AI research lab behind ChatGPT, is considering a tender offer at a $29b valuation. Thrive Capital and Founders Fund are in talks to invest, per WSJ. https://axios.link/3Zgmf7O

Brené Brown ended her exclusive podcast deal with Spotify after her contract was up. https://axios.link/3GjohLz

Delta partnered with Paramount to offer Paramount+ as in-flight entertainment for SkyMiles members. https://axios.link/3VOLg71

Universal Music Group sued video app Triller over unpaid licensing fees, per Variety. https://axios.link/3GLh74g

4. Deal flow 

E.W. Scripps Company promoted Scripps Networks president Lisa Knutson to chief operating officer, leading the company's restructuring. https://axios.link/3GIGi7F

Fremantle promoted Christian Vesper to CEO of global drama. https://axios.link/3jQCcBj

Magical Elves, the LA-based production company behind "Top Chef," hired Batterie Pictures' Noah Livingston as SVP of development. https://axios.link/3WPDxXM

Comcast promoted Jason S. Armstrong to CFO. He was previously deputy CFO and treasurer. https://axios.link/3jM5HnK

5. Movin' on up (or out)

Warner Bros. Discovery CFO: Hollywood went "overboard" with streaming "spending frenzy" (THR)

"There was a lot of thinking of, you know, let's do more more more, not necessarily 'let's do the exact right things, let's do what works," WBD CFO Gunnar Weidenfels said at a Citibank conference yesterday. "We have the ability, the benefit, to be Monday morning quarterbacks here."

The FTC proposes banning noncompete agreements (Axios)

"This would be a big change in the business world, where the agreements are widely used. The FTC estimates that 30 million people, or one in five workers, would be impacted, and the rule could increase wages by nearly $300 billion a year," Emily Peck writes. 

Microsoft, Activision back off aggressive claim in FTC case (Axios)

"Microsoft says it made a mistake last month when it claimed that the very structure of Federal Trade Commission, the agency trying to block its bid for Activision Blizzard, violates the United States Constitution," Stephen scoops.

6. Channel surfing

Illustration of a television with a tie dye pattern on the screen.

We normally bring you the weekly digest on Friday's, but this wasn't a normal week. That said, here's a look at the other Media Deals Pro newsletters starting from after New Year's day:

Jan. 3 —Media deals head south in 2022; WBD's new measurement partner; and the return of CES. Read the newsletter

Jan. 4 — Channel 4 deal turned off; Rogers-Shaw deal on hold; and Microsoft plays with ChatGPT. Read the newsletter

Jan. 5 — Tech industry cuts continue and Fanatics dumps its NFT business. Read the newsletter

7. The week that was

Situational awareness: If you’ll be at the 2023 World Economic Forum in Davos, join Axios for an event with MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative director Neha Narula on what’s ahead for the crypto industry. RSVP here.

@tim_bays: "The Pale Blue Eye" on Netflix. They had me at Christian Bale-meets-Edgar Allen Poe. 

@kerrymflynn: "Plastic Hearts" on Apple Music. In anticipation of Miley Cyrus' new music, I'll be listening to one of the best 2020 albums on repeat. 

✏️ Thanks to Michael Flaherty for editing and Jay Bennett for copy editing this newsletter.

Thank you for reading Axios Pro Media Deals! Please ask your friends, colleagues and WWE fans to sign up.

January 06, 2023

1 big thing: WWE puts up "for sale" sign