Channeling Rage, Rolling Calls & Building an Entertainment Empire | Ari Emanuel, WME & TKO
Oct 7, 2026 · 1:24:15
Ari Emanuel, CEO of TKO and executive chairman of WME Group, tells David Senra how he and Egon Durban bought the UFC for $4.2 billion and then landed an ESPN deal worth nearly the purchase price — validating their bet on direct-to-consumer sports streaming. He recounts being rejected when Spike TV's Phil Dumont claimed "we made you," securing a Fox deal, and fighting back when Amazon's committee slashed their $260 million offer to $140 million. Emanuel explains how buying IMG for $2.4 billion, outmaneuvering Peter Turner by bidding $400 million over, and the William Morris merger — which cost $44 million in buyouts to remove Jim Wyatt and Erv Weintraub — built Endeavor from a table and a phone. He credits David Geffen's advice to "get in traffic and get hit," his habit of rolling calls to create serendipity, and lessons from Mike Ovitz and Michael Dell. He also opens up about dyslexia-fueled insecurity, decades of rage, and how 5-MEO psychedelics helped him let go of legacy while keeping his work ethic.
