An In-Depth Look At The Business Of XFL 2020

Welcome to the latest episode of Full-Court Finance, the podcast from Zacks Investment Research focused on the intersection of sports, business, and the stock market. On this week’s episode, we take a look at World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:WWE) owner Vince McMahon’s recent XFL announcement and discuss what his new football league might look like when it debuts in 2020.

McMahon recently announced that he will once again start a professional football league called the XFL. During a video press conference, the outspoken WWE chairmen noted that the new XFL is set to focus on what many football fans want, from fewer commercials to shorter games.

McMahon’s XFL 2020 announcement came right before the start of Super Bowl week. But more importantly for the savvy promoter, his new football league should be able to generate buzz heading into the offseason amid nearly constant drama surrounding the NFL, as well as shifting entertainment consumption patterns.

BAMTech currently powers the wrestling giant’s over-the-top streaming service. The firm, which Disney (NYSE:DIS) now owns a large portion of, also helps run streaming for HBO, MLB, and the NHL.

McMahon could possibly utilize his widely successful WWE Network to stream and promote the XFL, but he also pointed to other major players entering the streaming market.

“To me the landscape has changed in so many different ways," McMahon told reporters. “Just look at technology and companies like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) bidding for sports rights. Even if ratings go down, there's no denying that live sports rights continue to be valuable and continue to deliver.”

Meanwhile, speculation about often-polarizing former NFL stars such as Johnny Manziel, Colin Kaepernick, and Tim Tebow joining the new XFL has already started. Still, many point to the first rendition of the XFL, which was widely unsuccessful in many aspects, as reason enough to doubt McMahon’s updated version.

If you have any questions about this episode of Full-Court Finance please feel free to shoot us an email over at podcast@zacks.com. Please also make sure to check out all of our other podcasts at zacks.com/podcast, and remember to subscribe and leave a rating on iTunes.

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