TKO President Mark Shapiro Discusses How YouTube Became a Major Player in the Sports World

During a recent chat with The Varsity, WME Group and TKO president Mark Shapiro discussed how YouTube has become a major player in the sports world. Below are some highlights (via Fightful):

Mark Shapiro on YouTube becoming a force to be reckoned with: “I think YouTube is a force to be reckoned with. There have been a lot of pieces written about YouTube and Netflix, it’s now a one-two race. That’s going to change over time. Obviously, David Ellison and what he’s doing, and potential consolidation on the horizon, and various other platforms and investments being made, but YouTube is where it’s at. Frankly, the UFC audience lives on YouTube more than anywhere else. It’s short-form, it’s highlights. We were blown away by the data. YouTube came to us, ‘We want to show you how big your audience is on YouTube. You’re one of the leading sports properties on YouTube, and how folks trade in the content on this platform and why, long-term, we’re the best place for you.’

On how YouTube has carved out a great space in the current creator economy: “That got us into that conversation. YouTube TV, tremendous platform. Sunday Ticket, a tremendous viewing experience on YouTube TV. It’s just a question of when they’re going to take their big bets and big swings. They’re not desperate; they don’t need to do anything. Check out their quarterly reports. It’s a big business that is thriving, incredibly profitable, super free cash flow. They’ve carved out a great space for themselves in the creator economy, so much so that Netflix is going to YouTube to take their creators and doing shows on Netflix. YouTube needs to ramp it up so their creators aren’t being stolen from them, and they should be doing more in sports. I think it’s just a matter of time.”

The main WWE YouTube channel currently has 111 million subscribers.