UFC CEO and President Dana White says the organization’s new rights agreement with Paramount came together faster than most could imagine — and he credits a tight-knit, experienced negotiating team for closing the deal in just 48 hours.
Speaking on Pardon My Take, White revealed that when the UFC’s negotiation window opened a few months ago, executives quickly engaged with “all the major players” in sports media. There was speculation the mixed martial arts giant could split its content across multiple networks. That changed when Skydance Media CEO David Ellison made a decisive offer.
“In the last three days of last week, David Ellison came in and said, ‘This is an all-or-nothing deal. I want everything,’” White said. “The thing was negotiated in like 48 hours.”
While White was not in the trenches on every contractual detail, he credited UFC parent company Endeavor’s top executives for steering the talk with no lawyers involved. “My partner is the greatest agent to ever walk the face of the earth, Ari Emanuel — that’s what he does,” White said. “Mark Shapiro has forgotten more about the television business than most people know. You couldn’t have two better guys in there handling it.”
For years, White has brushed off the idea that the UFC’s main competition comes from other combat sports organizations. Instead following the finalization of the new media rights agreement with Paramount, he says, the Octagon continues battling for the attention of a Saturday night audience.
“My competitors are the NFL, the NBA, whatever movie comes out on Saturday,” White said. “Anything that takes people’s attention away on a Saturday night is my competitor. I still have to go out and convince you to stay home and watch these fights.”
The Paramount deal does not include pay-per-view, which White believes makes it the most fan-friendly arrangements in the promotion’s history. He pushed back against the narrative that pay-per-view is an outdated model or dead, but emphasized the affordability this partnership will bring.
“Pay-per-view is not dead — that’s not true,” White said. “But this isn’t going to be a pay-per-view deal, so it’s incredible for the fans. I saw this thing somebody posted yesterday: during the era we’re in now, it’s like $1,100 to be a UFC fan to watch everything. Now it’s like $150 or $115 to be a UFC fan.”
White says the focus now shifts to execution. The UFC will work with Paramount to determine scheduling, marquee events, and strategies to outdo each previous year.
“Now it’s time to go to work. It’s just like every day. No matter what you’ve done last year, you’re still proving yourself,” White said. “When you end a year, you look at how do we beat last year. And when you do that for 25 years, it’s pretty good.”
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