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- Paramount+ secures UFC rights: $7.7B over seven years
- Ends ESPN pay-per-view, UFC available to Paramount+ subscribers
- Deal doubles UFC media revenue, aims to curb rampant piracy
- Select events simulcast on CBS, international rights unchanged via IMG
- Paramount+ costs USD$5.99–$11.99 monthly, improving affordability
TV and streamer deals are amongst the most lucrative rights purchases, but as pay-per-view content prices rose above USD$100 per month, pirated streams increased tenfold. Mark Shapiro, president and Chief Operating Officer of UFC parent company TKO Holdings, has been looking at alternative paths since February, and today, the company announced a new UFC partnership with streaming service Paramount+, valued at USD$7.7 billion across seven years.
“The double paywall had gotten out of control,” said Shapiro in an interview with Forbes. “We were seeing piracy number up tenfold, which is what you see for big boxing pay-per-views.”
While UFC President Dana White hasn’t ruled out the potential for UFC pay-per-view events in the future, including an additional PPV-only event, the reality is that the sport will now exclusively be available to subscribers of Paramount+ in the United States, with select events to be simulcast on CBS. Things won’t change too much locally as the UFC will continue to sell its international rights territory by territory through IMG, worth an estimated USD$250 million per year. Still, UFC fans in the U.S. should gear up for a few changes. Here’s everything you need to know about the Paramount UFC deal.
What This Deal Means for the UFC
David Ellison, son of the world’s second-richest man, Larry Ellison, is the 42-year-old CEO of Skydance Media. Last week, his company bought Paramount for $8 billion, and this week, they purchased the rights to the UFC for $7.7 billion. “These guys came in aggressive with an all-or-nothing approach and said ‘We want the whole thing,’” said Dana White in an interview with Forbes.
“The Ellisons are brilliant businessmen and have a whole game plan behind this thing. I can’t wait to be in business with them.”
But what does that mean for the UFC? More money for one. The partnership will double the UFC’s media rights revenue compared to its previous partner, ESPN. More affordable access (USD$5.99- $11.99 per month for a Paramount+ subscription) will also constrain the rise of pirated streams, which is essential when losing viewers to these illegal streams. Finally, the UFC will continue to control its broadcast productions, and “It’s going to be like that until I leave,” according to Dana White.
What This Deal Means for Paramount
By the numbers, the Paramount UFC deal dwarfs the NHL ($635 million) and the PGA Tour ($700 million) in annual revenue. It now competes more closely with the MLB ($1.8 billion), Olympics ($1.3 billion), March Madness ($1.1 billion) and NASCAR ($1.1 billion).
Paramount will benefit from an increased audience, opening the books for more advertisers as the streamer hopes to increase market share from 2% of all monthly TV viewing, according to Nielsen.
The company has roughly 77.7 million subscribers for its Paramount+, but this pales in comparison to major competitors like Netflix (300 million), Amazon Prime Video (200 million), Disney+ (150 million), and HBO Max (125 million).
What This Deal Means for UFC Fans
While we’re still trying to understand the NBA’s confusing ABC/ESPN, Comcast (NBC/Peacock), and Amazon deal, which will net the league around USD$76 billion from the 2025-26 season through 2035-36, this Paramount UFC deal is easier to understand.
The partnership with streaming service Paramount+ will eliminate ESPN’s pay-per-view model, which has been a part of the UFC’s partnership for over six years. Simply put, subscribers to Paramount+ will be able to watch UFC Fight Night on the streaming platform as part of their subscription.
That’s a win for the fans, but whether or not current UFC fans will find their way onto the platform is another question.
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