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☆ Netflix said it didn't want to be in sports. Now it could be streaming two NFL games on Christmas.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Now Netflix looks like it is close to a deal to stream two NFL games on Christmas Day, reports Puck's John Ourand, citing "a bevy of sources." Does that mean Netflix doesn't know how much it will pay for the games? The NFL declined to comment; Netflix didn't respond to a request for comment. If the deal does happen, it will be easy to step back and see how Netflix got there. The NFL now plans on releasing details about its upcoming schedule on May 15 — which also happens to be the day Netflix will host its "upfront" event in New York, catered to advertisers.

Persons: —, Puck's John Ourand, they'd Organizations: Service, Netflix, Business, NFL Locations: America, New York

☆ So, can we stop calling pro wrestling 'sports entertainment' now?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

For years, the WWE has called itself "sports entertainment" instead of pro wrestling. Since the early 2000s, back even when World Wrestling Entertainment was still called WWF, the company has carefully referred to its scripted grappling as "sports entertainment" rather than "professional wrestling." Now, it seems that the verboten phrase — "pro wrestling" — is back as part of a series of changes made after McMahon left the company. A source familiar with internal policies at WWE told Business Insider that use of the term "pro wrestling" has been relaxed in the past year. For the moment, pro wrestling did indeed win out over sports entertainment.

Persons: John Cena, —, Michael Cole, Vince McMahon, McMahon, — Ibou, Cena Organizations: WWE, Service, Undertaker, Wrestling Entertainment, XFL, Netflix, Wrestling, Sports Entertainment, Rock

☆ How Vince McMahon built an empire on fakery and taught Donald Trump to control a crowd
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —Netflix recently bet $5 billion on the idea that pro wrestling is due for a renaissance. The potential liability for Netflix, though, lies with World Wrestling Entertainment’s longtime puppet master and promoter, Vince McMahon. CNN: Vince McMahon has been a powerful force in American culture over the last 40 years, but I think that’s hard to convey to non-wrestling fans. Riesman: For about 40 years, Vince McMahon was the central actor and gravitational point for the American and Canadian professional wrestling industry. There’s kayfabe, and then there’s what Vince really pioneered, which is neokayfabe, a term I made up.

Persons: CNN Business ’, ”, Hulk Hogan, That’s, Wrestling Entertainment’s, Vince McMahon, McMahon, didn’t, Abraham Josephine Riesman, “, ” Riesman, Dwayne “, ” Johnson, Steve Austin, Donald Trump, Riesman, Vince, Donald Trump’s, Vince’s, Donny Trump, Trump, Linda, I’m, It’s, There’s, You’re, you’re, Vince McMahon’s, Mr, McMahon ”, Sammy Stein — Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Netflix, Wrestling, WWE, Wall Street, CNN, American, Trump, Trump . CNN, Endeavor Locations: New York, America, Canadian, Queens, United States

☆ The WWE knew Vince McMahon was a liability. So why did it bring him back after his scandalous departure?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Kyle Feldscher | David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —WWE’s parent company knew Vince McMahon — the founder of the wrestling behemoth — was a potential liability. That risk was realized Thursday when a former WWE employee accused McMahon of sexual assault and trafficking in a disturbing and graphic lawsuit. The company said McMahon has since repaid the company about $20 million for misappropriated corporate funds and for the legal fees TKO and WWE paid to investigate McMahon. Vince McMahon, Jr., was more akin to a king than a business executive in the world of WWE, his fingerprints on everything. “I have pledged my complete cooperation to the investigation by the special committee, and I will do everything possible to support the investigation,” McMahon said in a statement at the time.

Persons: Vince McMahon, —, McMahon, ”, Janel Grant, behemoth McMahon, “, Nick Khan, McMahon’s, Donald Trump’s, Donald J, ” McMahon, McMahon, — Vince McMahon, Vince McMahon’s, Stephanie, Jr, reinstalling, Stephanie McMahon —, Khan, What’s, Grant, CNN’s Sam Delouya, Elizabeth Wagmeister Organizations: CNN, WWE, Companies, US Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Wall Street, Trump Foundation, UFC, Endeavor, Securities and Exchange Commission

☆ WWE boss Vince McMahon accused of sexual assault and trafficking in new lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Vince McMahon attends a press conference at MetLife Stadium on February 16, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. WWE boss Vince McMahon was accused Thursday of sexual assault, trafficking, and physical and emotional abuse in a lawsuit by a woman who previously worked for the pro wrestling giant. The suit says McMahon only paid her $1 million, "but failed to make any further payments." In addition to McMahon, the suit names WWE and John Laurinaitis, the former head of talent relations and general manager, as defendants. McMahon's lawyer, and spokespeople for the WWE and TKO did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Vince McMahon, Janel Grant, McMahon, Grant, John Laurinaitis Organizations: MetLife, WWE, Connecticut federal, UFC, TKO, Holdings Locations: East Rutherford , New Jersey, Connecticut

☆ Watching Netflix without ads may cost you more as cheapest Basic plan gets phased out
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. AdvertisementThe move leaves some users facing a de-facto price increase as Netflix's next cheapest ad-free plan costs $15.49 a month. The company reported a record fourth quarter, adding 13.1 million subscribers and boosting its total to 260 million globally. Its closest rival, Disney+, is still trailing far behind with 150 million subscribers. Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: —, Ted Sarandos, Sarandos, We're Organizations: Service, Business, Netflix, Disney, Raw, WWE Locations: Canada, France

☆ Inside Tesla's make-or-break earnings report
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. In today's big story, we're previewing Tesla's make-or-break earnings report. And then there's the ultimatum Elon Musk issued to Tesla's board about wanting more voting rights or taking his AI projects elsewhere. Business Insider's Jennifer Sor has a roundup of what five Wall Street firms expect ahead of Tesla's earnings report. TeslaHow Musk pitches Tesla's year ahead will also be a telling signal, Nora told me.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Stephen Lam, Elon Musk, Jennifer Sor, Nora Naughton, BI's, Tesla, Nora, Kiran Raichura, Raichura, Goldman Sachs, Kraft Heinz, Sam Altman, it's, Glenn Harvey, Eddie Trunk, Brooks Kraft, Staples Organizations: Service, New Hampshire Republican, Tesla, Reuters, Capital Economics, Monster Beverage, Google, Google Google, Netflix, BI, of Fame, Apple, IBM, Brooks, Brooks Kraft LLC, Getty

☆ Why Netflix just made a $5 billion pro wrestling deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Now it's in "live sports entertainment" via a $5 billion pro wrestling deal with TKO. One big reason the deal could work: Netflix wasn't in the ads business. That's when a new $5 billion, 10-year deal with TKO Group will kick in and bring Raw, the weekly WWE pro wrestling show currently airing on Comcast's USA network, to Netflix in the US and other countries. Now it's here, in what appears to be the biggest licensing deal Netflix has ever made. And this deal is a rights deal, not an outright purchase.

Persons: —, they'll, Comcast's, . Peacock, Chris Rock, That's, it's Organizations: Netflix, Service, WWE, USA, ESPN

☆ ‘Subway Mania’ Brings the Cartoonish World of Pro Wrestling to Commuters
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Joshua Needelman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For many New Yorkers, the city’s subways are the performance spaces they encounter most often. Everyday, dancers and musicians put on a subterranean revue that uses mass transit as a stage. In recent years, this moving festival has included “Subway Mania,” an homage to one of professional wrestling’s most popular period: the late 1990s to early 2000. The scene caught the attention of Shyama Venkateswar, 57, who was on her way home to Forest Hills, Queens. Her sons, now young adults, had watched World Wrestling Entertainment shows growing up, she said, so she followed the wrestlers aboard the train and abandoned her trip home.

Persons: ”, Kane, Stone, Steve Austin, Shyama Venkateswar Organizations: Lexington, Wrestling Entertainment Locations: Manhattan, Forest Hills, Queens

☆ John Cena slept in his car and ate free pizza as he racked up job rejections in LA: 'Every avenue of fitness failed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Ashton Jackson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Fame and fortune weren't exactly in the cards for actor and WWE superstar John Cena early on. Finding a job in the field, however, proved harder than he'd thought, Cena told comedian Kevin Hart on Peacock talk show "Hart to Heart." After "every avenue of fitness failed," and a last-ditch effort to become a highway patrol officer fell through, Cena was met with homelessness, sleeping in the back of his 1991 Lincoln Continental and living off free pizza from a local shop. "They had a deal where, if you could eat their whole pizza, you got it for free," Cena said, chuckling. It's a job Cena didn't even know was possible.

Persons: John Cena, Cena, Kevin Hart, Peacock, Hart, —, Cena didn't, you've Organizations: WWE, Springfield College, Continental, Pro Wrestling, Ultimate University, Furious, CNBC Locations: West Newbury , Massachusetts, Los Angeles , California, LA

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports/File PhotoJune 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge rejected World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE.N) effort to dismiss a smaller rival's antitrust lawsuit that accused it of monopolizing the market for professional wrestling media rights. In a decision on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, said MLW Media had presented enough "circumstantial" evidence that WWE uses its dominance to keep rivals from accessing various distributors and arenas. MLW said Stamford, Connecticut-based WWE commands about 92% of revenue from U.S. media rights for pro wrestling, versus 6% for All Elite Wrestling and less than 2% for everyone else. MLW sufficiently alleged that WWE's activities "had a substantial effect in foreclosing competitors from the professional wrestling media rights market," Davila wrote. The case is MLW Media LLC v World Wrestling Entertainment Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

Persons: Cody Rhodes, Joe Camporeale, Edward Davila, MLW, Davila, Marc Kasowitz, Jonathan Stempel Organizations: Wrestling, District, MLW Media, WWE, Elite Wrestling, Fox, Amazon.com, CBS, Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros Discovery, Wrestling Entertainment Inc, Court, Northern District of, Thomson Locations: Inglewood , CA, USA, SoFi, U.S, San Jose , California, Stamford , Connecticut, , New York, Northern District, Northern District of California, New York

[1/10] Spectators watch a match at All Together Again Pro Wrestling event in Tokyo, Japan, June 9, 2023. AEW founder Tony Khan said 65,000 tickets have already been sold for the Wembley show, and "it would be a huge benefit to AEW if there is participation from New Japan Pro Wrestling and some of their top stars in the event." The scripted and often ridiculous spectacle of pro wrestling is a serious player in the entertainment sector. New Japan President Takami Ohbari said teaming with AEW would give the companies more of a fighting chance against a merged WWE and UFC operator Endeavor Group (EDR.N). "It's really mutually beneficial in terms of the global expansion for New Japan and also for AEW," Ohbari said.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Hoon TOKYO, Tony Khan, Khan, Brandon Thurston, Wrestlenomics, grappler, Antonio Inoki, Takami Ohbari, AEW, It's, Ohbari, Rocky Swift, Miyoung Kim, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Elite, Wembley, World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE, UFC, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Reuters, New, Garden, Endeavor, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Jacksonville , Florida, New Japan, Toronto, U.S, New York's, Britain

☆ Pro wrestlers return to China as global bouts resume after pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, June 7 (Reuters) - Not only presidents and chief executives are making their way to China to reconnect after three years of border closures, but also international professional wrestlers, who returned this week after the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are glad to let the world know, 'Hey, Chinese wrestling is back'," said event promoter Adrian Gomez. A cast of colourfully dressed characters - both heroes and villains - hammed it up for the audience, in the spirit of the storied WWE, the best-known pro wrestling body. International participants included former WWE pro wrestler Yoshi Tatsu from Japan and Malaysia's Nor "Phoenix" Diana, who is known as the first hijab-wearing pro wrestler. Gomez said the return of international wrestlers signalled a huge change in fortunes for Chinese pro wrestling, which has battled to stage domestic live matches since COVID curbs were imposed in early 2020, sometimes with no audience at all.

Persons: Adrian Gomez, colourfully, Yoshi Tatsu, Diana, Wang Tao, Gomez, we've, Casey Hall, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Middle Kingdom, WWE, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Japan, United States

☆ How WWE’s Vince McMahon ruthlessly got his job back despite allegations of sexual assault and misuse of company funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Kyle Feldscher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

WWE has always been a family business – Vince McMahon, Sr., handed over the reins to his son in the 1980s – and it seemed set to continue that way. Why was Vince McMahon stepping aside such a big deal? Vince McMahon was more akin to a king than a business executive in the world of WWE, his fingerprints on everything. Once considered a wrestling genius, critics have more recently come to consider Vince McMahon a creative liability. McMahon,” Vince McMahon’s devious on-screen character, who served as wrestling’s greatest heel for years in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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