RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - FEBRUARY 01: (R-L) Michael Page of England punches Shara Magomedov of Russia successful a middleweight combat during the UFC Fight Night lawsuit astatine anb Arena connected February 01, 2025 successful Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Chris Unger | Ufc | Getty Images
Days aft completing its merger with Skydance, Paramount has acquired the U.S. rights to TKO Group's UFC for 7 years, opening successful 2026.
Paramount is paying an mean of $1.1 cardinal per year, totaling $7.7 billion, for UFC's afloat slate of 13 marquee events and 30 "Fight Nights," the companies said successful a statement. All matches and events volition beryllium streamed successful the U.S. via Paramount+, and prime events volition beryllium simulcast connected CBS. The woody payments are weighted, with Paramount paying little than $1.1 cardinal successful the aboriginal years of the woody and higher values later.
Paramount won't complaint users immoderate further fees for entree to the events, eliminating the pay-per-view exemplary that ESPN+ has utilized for definite premium UFC events. Disney's ESPN had been paying an mean of $500 cardinal for 5 years of UFC rights. That woody expires astatine the extremity of 2025.
"The pay-per-view exemplary is simply a happening of the past," said Mark Shapiro, TKO Group's president and main operating officer, successful an interview. "What's connected pay-per-view anymore? Boxing? Movies connected DirecTV? It's an outdated, antiquated model. So, it was paramount to america – forgive the pun – wherever it's one-stop shopping, particularly for our younger fans successful flyover states. When they find out, 'Wait, if I conscionable motion up for Paramount+ for $12.99 a month, I'm going to automatically get UFC's numbered fights and the remainder of the portfolio? That's a connection we privation to amplify."
It's been a engaged fewer days for some Paramount and TKO. Paramount officially sold power of the institution to Skydance Media connected Thursday, bringing successful caller enactment led by Chief Executive Officer David Ellison. Also past week, TKO inked a five-year, $1.6 cardinal woody with ESPN for the U.S. rights to WWE's premium unrecorded events. UFC and WWE merged to go TKO successful 2023.
TKO enactment initially believed it would merchantability conscionable the 30 "Fight Night" events to Paramount and the premium numbered events to different media partner, said Shapiro. When the Skydance-Paramount woody closed Thursday, the 2 sides negotiated this woody successful 48 hours, helium said.
It was important for Ellison to bargain the full UFC bundle fixed the scarcity of sports rights disposable successful the coming years, helium said successful an interview. With Formula 1 rights likely earmarked for Apple and Major League Baseball waiting until 2028 to reorganize its large media packages, determination won't beryllium galore top-shelf sports assets coming to marketplace for Paramount to acquire.
"UFC is simply a unicorn plus that comes up astir erstwhile a decade," said Ellison successful an interview. Ellison described himself arsenic a UFC fan.
UFC events are desirable for streamers due to the fact that they instrumentality spot year-round — keeping fans paying for monthly subscriptions with little inducement to cancel seasonally than with different sports. There are 43 unrecorded events annually, consisting of 350 hours of unrecorded programming.
Paramount is funny successful buying UFC's planetary rights to brace with U.S. rights, the institution said successful a statement. Those rights originate connected a rolling basis, with astir one-third of them disposable each year. UFC matches are presently disposable successful much than 210 countries.
Paramount volition person a 30-day exclusive negotiating model for each country's rights erstwhile they're up for renewal, Shapiro said.
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