Ari Emanuel has firmly dismissed the possibility of selling TKO to a major media or technology company, making clear he sees a strong future for WWE and UFC’s parent company.

Speaking with Matt Belloni, Emanuel was asked who would make the ideal buyer for TKO. His immediate response was: “TKO?” When Belloni suggested the company could eventually be sold, Emanuel replied: “No, it won’t.”

Potential buyers including Paramount, Comcast and Amazon were mentioned, but Emanuel had the same answer.

“No. No. Not for sale. Never.”

Explaining his position, Emanuel pointed to the long-term value of sports ownership. He recalled how he, Egon Durban, Mark Shapiro and Patrick Whitesell recognised the growing importance of sports and streaming, even when others questioned the prices they were paying for assets.

He now considers those investments exceptional value and believes demand for live sport will continue to grow.

“The two cheapest acquisitions of all time in the sports space. As my son Leo says to me, Thursday is baby Friday, Dad. With AI, probably Wednesday is going to be the baby Thursday. There’s going to be more free time than ever.”

Emanuel suggested that artificial intelligence could give people more leisure time and, alongside economic growth, more money to spend on entertainment. In his view, live sporting events would be well placed to benefit.

“So, you’re sitting in a situation that there’s going to be more time for people to consume entertainment. We’re social animals. Go out, go to sporting events, consume sports. Sports is the greatest reality show, right, of all time.”

For Emanuel, TKO’s appeal comes from owning its sports properties. He sees that ownership as a lasting advantage over representing individual clients who could eventually move elsewhere.

“Owning sports assets. Now, people are trying to own teams. We own four leagues. It’s an incredible asset.”

He closed by reinforcing that neither he nor Durban is looking towards a sale, with both seeing further growth ahead.

“The value is only going up and to the right. And so Egon Durban, myself... I mean, there’s no chance that that’s happening. Zero.”

While the idea of a media giant buying TKO may continue to attract discussion, Emanuel’s position is clear: he believes keeping its sports properties is the better long-term business decision.