The UFC pay-per-view era is officially over. The pay-per-view model itself seemingly is over. With the UFC coming to a new rights agreement with Paramount+ and CBS, the UFC has found a new exclusive home for all their events in the United States. The seven-year deal, worth a reported $1.1 billion annually, is the type of dollar amount the UFC demands, but the company it chose is somewhat puzzling.
CBS Sports is well known for its coverage of the NFL, The Masters, NCAA Football, among others. The UFC has never touched a CBS Sports media property; they’ve done deals with FOX Sports and ABC/ESPN previously. Dana White’s promotion is navigating into uncharted waters with a high price tag attached.
You must wonder—was the focus the exposure or the amount on the check that was cut?
As a casual viewer of the UFC’s product, I do enjoy the feel of a fight night. The UFC has been putting on big fight nights now for more than two decades, dating back to when White took over the UFC in 2001. The sport has grown in popularity and made some of its fighters household names in the world of sports.
What Matters Most?
What struck me was a line in White’s comments about the signing of the deal.
“The exposure provided by the Paramount and CBS networks under this new structure is a huge win for our athletes and anyone who watches and loves this sport,” said White in a statement Monday.
The UFC is ending its current agreement with ESPN, known for being the Worldwide Leader in sports. The UFC was featured on ESPN programming like First Take, Get Up, and SportsCenter as part of its deal with ESPN. The UFC was active socially in partnership with ESPN’s massive digital team on fight nights and was promoted constantly on ESPN’s bottom line for every UFC event and program.
Last time I checked, as much as I love CBS Sports Network and Paramount+, they don’t have anywhere near the reach and influence in sports that the four letters of ESPN have.
It’s not a knock on the quality of product CBS provides—it’s just the facts of the matter.
What Changed for the UFC?
When the UFC signed their agreement with ESPN back in 2018, Dana White said the agreement with ESPN was another “monumental day” for the UFC. He called ESPN the “pinnacle in sports broadcasting” and recognized around the world. There was the rebranding of UFC on ESPN Fight Night with expanded coverage on ESPN’s linear networks. UFC events were seen on ABC television, just like they were on FOX Sports before.
All things considered, if ESPN is the pinnacle of sports broadcasting, then why move to Paramount+ and CBS?
In a world where everything goes to the highest bidder, the UFC may be no different. White stated in June that the UFC likely would have multiple media rights agreements with their next deal.
That still could be the case, given there was no mention of the UFC’s Contender Series. Rumors for months had the UFC in discussions with Amazon, Netflix, ESPN, and Warner Bros. Discovery. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro told The Press Box podcast that ESPN had regular discussions with the UFC about continuing their deal.
Out of nowhere though—Paramount+ and CBS.
Who Benefits the Most?
Does the deal make sense for Paramount+ and CBS? Of course it does. It’s a signature home for a growing sport (still) that caters to a much younger demographic than any of the four major sports.
What doesn’t make sense is how this makes sense for the UFC.
Regardless of the amount of money they’re making per year from Paramount+ and CBS, how does this help the UFC in exposure?
Paramount+ just closed out the second quarter with 77.7 million subscribers after losing 1.3 million since March.
Netflix ended 2024 with 301.6 million subscribers.
Amazon Prime has over 200 million. We’ll see what ESPN does with their new direct-to-consumer product in a couple of weeks.
Did the UFC make the right choice?
Are sports fans flocking to Paramount+ now for the Champions League or Big Ten basketball? What’s the SportsCenter element that CBS Sports provides to help gain added exposure for the UFC? Where are the cross-promotional opportunities for UFC fighters on CBS Sports or Paramount+ programming to plug their upcoming fights for viewership?
The UFC does have a growing audience because of the product and the platform ESPN provided since 2018, but will that exposure fall by the wayside if ESPN begins to ignore the UFC or not provide the amount of coverage it once had?
ESPN is trying to make something happen with Major League Baseball ahead of the conclusion of their media rights deal, which expires at the end of this season. Will they do the same with the UFC before their deal with Paramount+ begins?
The UFC cashed in due in part to their current partner in ESPN. The goal for Dana White was to build the UFC to where it was in the same conversation with the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL—to sit at the table of the four major sports. White succeeded in that.
With this agreement, the exposure fight for the UFC is officially over as they cash in with a new signature home.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
