UFC followers received’t need to dish out further bucks to observe matches beginning subsequent yr.
It was introduced on Monday, August 11, that Paramount has acquired the streaming and broadcast rights to UFC, which is owned by TKO Group, for seven years beginning in 2026, per a number of retailers. The $7.7 billion deal ($1.1 billion per yr) contains all of UFC’s 13 marquee occasions and 30 “Combat Nights.”
The brand new deal additionally marks the top of UFC being accessed by way of pay-per-view, as all matches can be streamed within the U.S. on Paramount+ at no extra value. Choose occasions may also air concurrently on CBS. ESPN+’s present pay-per-view partnership with UFC expires on the finish of this yr.
“The pay-per-view mannequin is a factor of the previous,” Mark Shapiro, President and Chief Working Officer of TKO Group, mentioned of the deal, per CNBC. “What’s on pay-per-view anymore? Boxing? Motion pictures on DirecTV? It’s an outdated, antiquated mannequin. So, it was paramount to us – forgive the pun – the place it’s one-stop buying, particularly for our youthful followers in flyover states. Once they discover out, ‘Wait, if I simply join Paramount+ for $12.99 a month, I’m going to mechanically get UFC’s numbered fights and the remainder of the portfolio?’ That’s a message we wish to amplify.”
Paramount CEO David Ellison added in a Monday assertion, “Paramount’s benefit lies within the expansive attain of our linear and streaming platforms. Reside sports activities proceed to be a cornerstone of our broader technique — driving engagement, subscriber progress, and long-term loyalty, and the addition of UFC’s year-round must-watch occasions to our platforms is a significant win,” per ESPN.
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In response to CNBC, Paramount can be all for shopping for the rights to worldwide UFC matches, that are at the moment accessible in over 210 international locations. The corporate will reportedly have a 30-day unique window to barter for every nation’s UFC rights as soon as they’re up for renewal.
“We couldn’t be extra enthusiastic about this,” Ellison informed the New York Instances in a cellphone interview. “From my perspective, the U.F.C. can be a unicorn sports activities asset.”
Paramount’s UFC deal comes shortly after the corporate accomplished its $8 billion merger with Skydance. “At present marks an thrilling and pivotal second as we put together to convey Paramount’s legacy as a Hollywood establishment into the way forward for leisure,” Ellison mentioned in a press release earlier this month, per the AP. “[I aim to] honor distinctive storytelling whereas modernizing how we make and ship content material.”
The merger was authorized shortly after Paramount settled a $16 million lawsuit with Donald Trump final month. He beforehand accused 60 Minutes of deceptively enhancing a 2024 interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. The Late Present With Stephen Colbert was canceled within the wake of the settlement, main some to take a position the case performed a component within the cancellation, although CBS acknowledged the choice was purely monetary.
Trump, for his half, denied any involvement in The Late Present‘s cancellation. “Everyone is saying that I used to be solely chargeable for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Evening. That isn’t true!” he wrote by way of Fact Social on July 29. “The rationale he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the truth that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million {Dollars} a yr in losses — And it was solely going to get WORSE!”