William Morris Endeavor (WME)

Extracted Attributes

• Type

  Talent and media agency, Holding company

• Founded

  2009-04-27

• Industry

  Talent and literary agencies

• Full Name

  William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC

• Common Name

  William Morris Endeavor (WME)

• Headquarters

  Beverly Hills, California, United States

• Founding Event

  Merger of William Morris Agency and Endeavor Talent Agency

• Successor Entity

  Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc.

• Former Name (intermediate)

  WME-IMG

• Ownership Stake in Fifth Season

  20%

Timeline

• William Morris Agency, a predecessor to WME, was founded in New York City, New York, United States. (Source: web_search_results)

  1898

• Jim Wiatt joined William Morris Agency from International Creative Management. (Source: web_search_results)

  1999

• William Morris Agency and Endeavor Talent Agency announced their merger to form William Morris Endeavor (WME). Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell became Co-CEOs. (Source: wikipedia, web_search_results)

  2009-04-27

• The William Morris Agency became defunct following its acquisition by Endeavor Talent Agency, forming WME. (Source: web_search_results)

  2009-07

• Silver Lake Partners acquired a 31.25% minority stake in WME for $250 million, leading to the formation of a new executive committee. (Source: web_search_results)

  2012-05-02

• WME acquired a minority stake in the creative agency Droga5. (Source: web_search_results)

  2013

• William Morris Endeavor was renamed WME-IMG. (Source: wikipedia)

  2013

• Ari Emanuel was CEO of Endeavor. (Source: wikipedia)

  2013

• WME-IMG reorganized, and the parent company was renamed from WME-IMG to Endeavor. Ari Emanuel became Endeavor CEO, and Patrick Whitesell became Endeavor executive chairman. Endeavor Content was formed. (Source: web_search_results)

  2017-10

• Silver Lake completed a deal to take Endeavor (the successor to WME) private, resulting in Patrick Whitesell's departure as executive chairman. (Source: wikipedia)

  2025-03-24

• WME opted all its clients out of the latest update to OpenAI's Sora, a text-to-video AI tool, to protect client likenesses and images. (Source: web_search_results)

  2025-10-06

Endeavor (company)

Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (formerly William Morris Endeavor and WME-IMG) is an American holding company for talent and media agencies with its primary offices in Beverly Hills, California. The company was founded in April 2009 after the merger of the William Morris Agency and Endeavor Talent Agency. Endeavor represents artists in film, television, music, theater, digital media, and publishing. It also represents the NFL and NHL. Endeavor is majority owner of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) through TKO Group. In collegiate athletics Endeavor-Learfield IMG represents The American, A10, Big 12, Conference USA, Horizon League, MAC, MEAC, OVC, SEC and WCC. The group additionally owns a 20% stake in film and television production company Fifth Season (formerly Endeavor Content), with the remaining 80% owned by South Korean entertainment and retail company CJ ENM. As of 2013 Endeavor was headed by CEO Ari Emanuel. On March 24, 2025, private equity firm Silver Lake completed a deal to take Endeavor private. Then executive chairman Patrick Whitesell relinquished his position and left the company.

Web Search Results

• William Morris Endeavor | The JH Movie Collection's Official Wiki

  William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC (WME or WME-IMG), also known as William Morris Endeavor, is an American talent agency with offices in Beverly Hills, California, United States. The company was founded in April 2009, after the merger of the William Morris Agency and the Endeavor Agency. WME represents artists across all media platforms, specifically movies, television, music, theatre, digital and publishing. It also represents the NFL and NHL. WME also owns the Ultimate Fighting [...] On April 27, 2009, WMA and the Endeavor Talent Agency announced that they were forming William Morris Endeavor, or WME. Endeavor executives Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell were widely seen as the architects of the merger and quickly became the Co-CEOs of WME. Following the official announcement of the merger, nearly 100 WMA employees and former board members were let go. One of those leaving was Jim Wiatt, who came to WMA in 1999 from International Creative Management, where he was [...] brought a strategic partnership between WME and creative music agency Jingle Punks, which creates, publishes and licenses music. WME is also an investor in the e-commerce platform [OpenSky], which was named one of America's "Most Promising Companies" by Forbes. In 2013, Whitesell and Emanuel were profiled in Fast Company, highlighting the company's digital growth.

• Endeavor (company) - Wikipedia

  On April 27, 2009, William Morris Agency (WMA) and the Endeavor Talent Agency announced that they were forming William Morris Endeavor, or "WME". Endeavor executives Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell were widely seen as the architects of the merger and quickly became the Co-CEOs of WME. After the official announcement of the merger, nearly 100 WMA employees and former board members were let go. One of those leaving was Jim Wiatt, who came to WMA in 1999 from International Creative Management, [...] On May 2, 2012, WME and Silver Lake Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm based in Silicon Valley, signed an agreement for Silver Lake to acquire a 31.25% minority stake in the agency for $250 million. A new executive committee, consisting of Co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell and Silver Lake Managing Director Egon Durban, was formed to lead the company's growth strategy and investment activities. In July 2013, WME acquired a minority stake in the creative agency Droga5. The [...] WME-IMG reorganized in October 2017 with the parent company being renamed from WME-IMG to Endeavor. Ari Emanuel became Endeavor CEO and Patrick Whitesell became Endeavor executive chairman. The general talent agency retained the WME name as the sports agency retained the IMG name. In October 2017, Endeavor Content was formed from the WME's and IMG's film financing and scripted TV sales units, WME's advisory group for film financiers and content producers and Bloom, which will continue to

• William Morris Agency - Wikipedia

  The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best-known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent agency in show business". In April 2009, WMA announced it would merge with the Endeavor Talent Agency to form William Morris Endeavor. William Morris Endeavor was renamed WME-IMG in 2013, then Endeavor "Endeavor (company)") in October 2017. ## History [...] On April 27, 2009, WMA and the Endeavor Talent Agency announced that they were merging to form William Morris Endeavor. Endeavor executives Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell were widely recognized as the architects of the deal and ultimately took the roles of WME Co-CEOs. Following the official announcement of the merger, nearly 100 WMA employees and former board members were let go. One of those leaving was Jim Wiatt, who came to WMA in 1999 from International Creative Management, where he was [...] | Industry | Talent and literary agencies | | Founded | 1898; 127 years ago (1898) in New York City, New York "New York (state)"), United States | | Defunct | July 2009; 16 years ago (2009-07) | | Fate | Acquired by Endeavor Talent Agency | | Successor | Endeavor "Endeavor (company)") | | Headquarters | Beverly Hills, California , United States | | Website | wmeentertainment.com |

• Big Talent Agencies: The Power Players of Entertainment - Vitrina AI

  Awards: The agency has been recognized for its outstanding contributions to talent representation and entertainment deal-making. #### 2. William Morris Endeavor (WME) Entertainment Overview: William Morris Endeavor (WME) is one of the most prestigious talent agencies in the world, representing top-tier clients across film, TV, music, sports, and digital media. [...] ## Vector (1) ## PRG ## Hyphenate Media ## Sony TV ## Premier Digital ## Netflix ## Getty ## Digital Film Tree ## Amagi ## William Morris Endeavor (WME) Entertainment ## Endeavor Group ## Warner Bros. Discovery ## Sony Pictures ## Toonz Media Group ## SBT Brazil ## Paramount ## Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) ## DLE Animation Japan ## Google TV ## Friday Filmworks ## crafty apes ## ITV\_Studios 1 ## Globo 2024 1 ## Vector (1) ## PRG ## Hyphenate Media ## Sony TV [...] Whether you’re a content acquirer, distributor, or production house, Vitrina helps you access the right talent representatives efficiently. Trusted by Execs and Leaders From ## Amagi ## William Morris Endeavor (WME) Entertainment ## Endeavor Group ## Warner Bros. Discovery ## Sony Pictures ## Toonz Media Group ## SBT Brazil ## Paramount ## Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) ## DLE Animation Japan ## Google TV ## Friday Filmworks ## crafty apes ## ITV\_Studios 1 ## Globo 2024 1

• 'Artists should have a choice.' WME opts clients out of Sora update ...

  As anxieties among Hollywood talent increase surrounding artificial intelligence, Beverly Hills talent agency WME is drawing a line on behalf of its clients. WME told San Francisco-based OpenAI that it is opting all of its clients out of the latest update to Sora, the AI startup’s text-to-video tool. The decision essentially puts OpenAI on notice that it’s not authorizing the company to use their clients’ likenesses or images in the latest update of the video-sharing app.