All Access

Media Deals

Media Deals Alerts

Alert

Standard

Media Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Media Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Netflix's landmark streaming deal with the WWE puts the pressure on Peacock to renew its own deal with the wrestling promotion, Tim writes.

Why it matters: Live sports and events are key to Peacock's survival, and in Netflix, they have their most formidable competition to staying in the ring.

State of play: Netflix's deal doesn't just make them the exclusive home for "Monday Night Raw"; it turned the streaming giant into the only home for WWE content everywhere outside the U.S.

That includes its other TV franchises SmackDown and NXT, as well as top-level WWE pay-per-views like Wrestlemania. Globally, Netflix is now the WWE's largest rights holder.

NBCUniversal signed a $1 billion streaming deal with the WWE to make Peacock the home for all PPVs, specials and library content, in addition to its three-decade run of televising "Raw" on USA.

That streaming deal with Peacock is up in 2026.

Of note: NBCUniversal has had a long and fruitful partnership with the WWE, but that was mostly when the WWE was an independent business. It's now part of TKO Group after being bought by Endeavor last year.

NBCUniversal managed to snag SmackDown, which will move to USA this fall, from Fox.

The big picture: Investors are still wary that streaming is a good business, and Peacock's position within the streaming hierarchy is tenuous at best.

Peacock now has 31 million subscribers, having added three million subs during the fourth quarter of 2023. That still puts it well behind the streaming heavyweights like Netflix, Amazon and Disney.

Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said as much during their earnings call this morning: "It's not the scale we ultimately hope to get to."

Losses are narrowing: Peacock lost $825 million in the quarter, compared to $978 million in the same period a year earlier.

The streamer got a boost from the NFL this month when it exclusively aired an NFL playoff game, which drew 23 million viewers. More importantly, it led to 2.8 million signups, per data firm Antenna, the largest single event signup the firm has ever tracked.

The bottom line: With Netflix in the ring for the WWE, Peacock is under more pressure than ever to make its case that it's still the wrestling outfit's best home.

1 big thing: Peacock's No. 1 contender 

Photo illustration of a WWE Championship belt decorated with dollar signs.

Photo illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

WPP said today it will merge BCW and Hill & Knowlton, as the advertising and communications company continues to consolidate its internal brands.

Why it's the BFD: The move will create Burson, a communications group that will be one of the largest PR agencies in the world, with more than 6,000 employees, Eleanor Hawkins writes.

Details: Corey duBrowa, who joined BCW from Google last year, will serve as global CEO of Burson. Hill & Knowlton CEO AnnaMaria DeSalva will serve as global chairman.

The rest of the leadership team will be announced this year.

Burson will launch on July 1 of this year, WPP said.

The big picture: This is the latest round of mergers within WPP, which has long been consolidating its internal brands to streamline operations.

In 2018, Burson-Marsteller merged with Cohn & Wolfe to create BCW, while Hill & Knowlton increased its global footprint in 2023 by acquiring Latin American firm JeffreyGroup and German firm 3K Communications.

Of note: WPP holds a majority stake in strategic communications firm FGS Global, which sold a 30% stake to private equity group KKR in a deal valued at $1.425 billion.

What to watch: The gap between mega-firms and small, boutique firms will likely widen as the consolidation trend continues.

💭 Kerry's thought bubble: WPP has been axing some brands in favor of one-stop powerhouses. Creative agency VML has engulfed three other major firms: Young & Rubicam, Wunderman and J. Walter Thompson. 

The consolidation push seems antithetical to the former strategy of internal competition, where agencies could pitch the same accounts, and if either wins, it benefits WPP's bottom line. It's a bet on simplicity.

2. The BFD: WPP's comms combo

Illustration of a spotlight shining on two people shaking hands.

Go deeper in our full database in the Axios Pro Deals Tracker.

• Beatdapp, a Vancouver-based music-focused fraud detector company, raised $17m in funding. https://axios.link/3vPseGo

• Andre Agassi, David Kass and Raine Ventures paid $8m for a control stake in pickleball rating system DUPR. https://axios.link/3HxGciU

• Tribeca Enterprises is partnering with digital film distributor Giant Pictures to launch Tribeca Films, which will distribute festival films to streaming services. https://axios.link/3UbxbTU

• DraftKings is nearing a marketing deal with Barstool Sports, Sportico reports. https://axios.link/3Svg1j3

3. Deal flow

• Katherine Maher was named CEO of NPR. She has been serving as CEO of Web Summit and previously was CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation. https://axios.link/47M5Mv1

• Dan Fisher, a former Entertainment One executive, was named EVP of VMI Releasing, the North American distribution arm of VMI Worldwide. https://axios.link/48YdT92

• Bhanu Prakash, most recently head of creative operations at Technicolor Games, joined the animation and gaming studio Saffronic as creative head of games. https://axios.link/48LPTWQ

• Jon Stewart will return to "The Daily Show" as its EP and Monday host from Feb. 12 through the 2024 election cycle, Sara Fischer writes. https://axios.link/3OhUA2q

• Brad Stone was named editor of Bloomberg Businessweek. He was most recently the senior executive editor of Bloomberg News's global technology team. https://axios.link/4b6LvmJ

• Business Insider is laying off 8% of its staff. https://axios.link/3OEiVjh

• Microsoft is laying off 1,900 employees at Activision Blizzard and Xbox, about 8% of the Microsoft Gaming division. https://axios.link/3vVz39c

4. Movin' on up (or out)

✊ Scoop: Forbes union planning walkout (Axios)

"It would represent the first walkout at Forbes in its 106-year history. ... Strikes and work stoppages have become a bigger part of union negotiation tactics in recent years, as newsrooms face seemingly never-ending layoffs and cost-cutting," Sara reports.

💸 At Dish Network, a bondholder vs. shareholder fight is brewing (Axios)

"The brewing struggle centers on a controversial balance sheet maneuver to help address looming debt maturities and avoid the prospect of bankruptcy — but it protects shareholders at the expense of creditors," Kate Marino writes.

😮 CNN stuns sports world with unbylined NBA scoop about Doc Rivers (THR)

"While CNN certainly covers sports (its sports page covers more international sports, with Bleacher Report the U.S.-focused brand for Warner Bros. Discovery), the break was arguably the biggest scoop of the day, on a very busy news day with the New Hampshire primary," Alex Weprin writes.

5. Channel surfing

Illustration of a TV color test screen in the shape of a wave.

💰 Situational awareness: Skydance CEO David Ellison has made a "preliminary offer" to buy Paramount parent company National Amusements, Bloomberg reports.

@tim_bays: Lions vs. 49ers on Fox. Another weekend of me sweating out a 49ers playoff game, this time to reach the Super Bowl.

@kerrymflynn: Jon Stewart clips on Comedy Central's YouTube channel. Excited for this comeback.

✏️ Thanks to Michael Flaherty for editing and Katie Lewis for copy editing this newsletter.

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

January 25, 2024

1 big thing: Peacock's No. 1 contender