WWE has big heat ahead of its SummerSlam event as live entertainment takes center stage

The slam of the summer… WWE’s second biggest event of the year after WrestleMania, SummerSlam, is this weekend — and it’s already proving to be a champion for the entertainment brand. Sponsorship revenue for SummerSlam is up 60% from last year’s $7M. It’s the latest good news for WWE, which joined Endeavor and UFC last year in forming the publicly traded TKO Group. The company reports next week, and its shares are up more than 35% this year.

• Muscle money: This year, WWE signed a $5B media rights deal with Netflix, marking the streamer’s largest live sports play. In April, WrestleMania viewership spiked 41% on the year and merch sales rose 20%. WWE bested UFC in Q1 revenue, notching ~$317M.

• Room to rumble: UFC brought in about $35M more than WWE in sponsorship revenue last quarter, but WWE is ramping things up. In March, it started selling more placement spots, including a center-ring logo deal with Logan Paul’s Prime energy drink.

That’s Nielsen’s music… Live sports, predetermined or not, are an eyeball magnet. Ratings for the Paris Olympics are up 79% from the Tokyo Games, according to Comcast’s NBC. Compared to last year, WWE’s “SmackDown” ratings were up 10% in the first half of the year in the coveted 18 to 49 demo. NFL regular season games averaged 18M viewers last year, tied for the second highest figure in ~30 years.