The North American media and telecommunications sector closed 2023 with an aggregate M&A deal value of $53.02 billion, representing a 69.75% decrease from $175.28 billion in 2022, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

Deal volume also plunged to 1,456 transactions in 2023 from 1,831 transactions in 2022.

The sector's monthly M&A value peaked in April at $17.97 billion across 119 deals, a significant drop from 2022's highest monthly tally of $97.96 billion from 180 transactions in January 2022.

M&A activity in April 2023 was boosted by World Wrestling Entertainment LLC's (WWE) $9.77 billion sale to Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. unit Zuffa LLC, which emerged as the largest transaction both that month and throughout 2023. The deal, completed in September 2023, led to the creation of a new publicly listed entity, TKO Group Holdings Inc.

Five firms that worked on the Endeavor-WWE deal topped the 2023 media financial adviser rankings. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Moelis & Co. LLC and Raine Securities LLC advised WWE on the transaction, while Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC advised Endeavor.

– Learn more details about the Endeavor-WWE deal on S&P Capital IQ. – Read through a profile of the biggest media and telecom M&A transaction in December 2023. – Run a custom screen of M&A by industry or geography on our Transactions Statistics page.

The second-highest total of monthly M&A value for 2023 occurred in November when the sector recorded $13.28 billion in aggregate deal value across 98 transactions. More than half of that amount came from Walt Disney Co.'s buyout of streaming platform Hulu LLC from Comcast Corp. for about $8.61 billion, which is the sector's second-biggest deal of 2023.

An investor group's $6.05 billion acquisition of the franchise of the Washington Commanders, a National Football League Inc. team, was the third-largest media and telecom deal. That deal was announced in May 2023, when the sector registered the year's third-highest monthly aggregate M&A value of $8.49 billion from 133 transactions.

The sector's three largest M&A deals in 2023 involved movies and entertainment companies as targets.

December was slowest M&A month

M&A activity declined in December 2023, when the sector tallied 96 deals with an aggregate value of $44.1 million. The aggregate deal value represented an 11-month low since the $63.9 million total from 141 transactions in January 2023.

Nine of the 10 largest transactions for December 2023 were from the broadcasting subsector and mostly involved the acquisition of television and radio stations.

The largest deal was Coastal Television Broadcasting Co. LLC's acquisition of 12 television stations for $18.1 million from an investor group that includes Minnesota-based broadcasters KQDS-TV Corp. and Red River Broadcast Co. LLC. The second-largest deal was religious institution Pillar of Fire's $7.6 million purchase of four FM radio stations in Colorado from Max Radio of Denver LLC. Both transactions are subject to the Federal Communications Commission's approval.

The sole advertising-related deal in the top 10 list was Delaware-based Onfolio Holdings Inc.'s purchase of substantially all of the assets of business-to-business marketing company RevenueZen LLC for $1.1 million.