UFC CEO Dana White remained rather brief regarding the next steps to secure a long-term deal for U.S.-based TV rights beginning next year.
In doing so, White was respectful of ESPN’s contributions to the UFC and its ability to help the promotion put on cards at a frantic pace. Still, White said he expects a brighter future moving forward as the company continues to grow.
“I like ESPN,” White told reporters Saturday night. “I’ve said it many times, we had a bit of a rocky start, which is normal in any relationship, but we’re in a great place with ESPN. If we re-sign with them or do not, I have nothing but great things to say about my time at ESPN.”
Which Network Suits The UFC The Best?
With that said, White remained clear once the negotiating window opens this coming Tuesday for any non-ESPN players, all bets are off regarding which networks the UFC may talk to – whether it’s Netflix, Amazon Prime, or another potential suitor.
“When the window opens, we’ll obviously start talking to lots of different people and we’ll see what the options are out there,” White said. “We’ve said this every time. There could be a time when we end up on several different networks like all other sports do.”
White didn’t seem to have any preferences as to where the UFC is broadcast. It’s clear his priorities are elsewhere, and regardless of which network or streaming service wins outright, the product itself will likely remain the same.
“It depends on what ESPN or wherever else we go is looking for,” White added. “Most of the times when you do these deals, you’re catering to what the network needs. Plus they’ll have other programming, other sports that they’re already committed to at certain times and seasons and whatever it may be. It always changes. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Netflix makes the most sense, especially after they already made a deal on the WWE side.
I assume most PPV events are watched on an illegal stream these days. Netflix would be the best for growth since everyone has it.
INteresting
If they put on less events and make it harder for dummies to watch, I’ll selly organs and soul for whatever Dana wants
Announced HEADLINERS
For those matchups, including main events for the Apex on May 17 and Baku on June 21, check out the list below:
- Gilbert Burns vs. Michael Morales – UFC Vegas 106 (May 17)
- Denise Gomes vs. Elise Reed – UFC Vegas 106 (May 17)
- Oban Elliott vs. Ramiz Brahimaj – UFC Vegas 107 (May 31)
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer – UFC 316 (June 7)
- Cody Brundage vs. Mansur Abdul-Malik – UFC Atlanta (June 14)
- Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. – UFC Baku (June 21)
- Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Kyoji Horoguchi – UFC Baku (June 21)
- Irina Alekseeva vs. Klaudia Syguła – UFC Baku (June 21)
- Dariya Zhelezniakova vs. Melissa Mullins – UFC Baku (June 21)
- Jhonata Diniz vs. Justin Tafa – UFC 317 (June 28)
- Lauren Murphy vs. Eduarda Moura – UFC Nashville (July 12)
- Austen Lane vs. Vitor Petrino – UFC Nashville (July 12)
- Fatima Kline vs. Melissa Martinez – UFC Nashville (July 12)
Netflix gets:
HW
205
185
170
ESPN gets:
155
145
135
Whoever would take them gets:
125
all WMMA
Perfect
The UFC can officially start fielding offers from potential broadcast partners on Tuesday after an exclusive negotiating window with ESPN comes to a close.
While the two sides reaching a new deal before April 15 always seemed highly unlikely due to the competitive nature of these broadcast rights deals, the UFC and ESPN have forged a successful partnership over the past seven years. That said, the UFC is reportedly seeking over $1 billion per year on a new broadcast rights deal — a massive increase from the $300 million per year average that ESPN currently pays.
It’s impossible to know how the whole situation plays out yet but ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro isn’t concerned about failing to reach a deal with the UFC before other networks and potential streaming partners can start bidding on the UFC.
“The exclusive negotiating window is expiring imminently, but I wouldn’t read too much into that,” Pitaro told Sports Business Journal. “We’re not hyper-focused on that window.
“We know that there’s going to be interest in the UFC and that’s great for the sport. It’s great for them. But we remain interested in trying to figure something out with those guys.”
The ever-changing landscape of broadcast rights deals puts the UFC in a very advantageous position with the company’s contract with ESPN coming to an end at the close of 2025.
No other major sports property was available until 2028 until ESPN actually cut ties with Major League Baseball back in February with that deal now also ending in 2025. Still, the UFC remains a very viable and profitable brand, especially due to the schedule where the promotion puts on events year round unlike baseball or most other professional sports that operate on a season long basis.
That reason alone has prevented Netflix from getting involved in the bidding for broadcast rights for other sports, but there’s no such concern with the UFC.
Originally signed as a five-year deal before two more years were tacked on with the addition of pay-per-view broadcast exclusivity, Pitaro had nothing but praise for his working relationship with the UFC, but he also couldn’t predict the future about how these negotiations will ultimately play out.
“UFC has been really good to ESPN,” Pitaro said. “We launched ESPN+ in April of 2018, and really the UFC property was the marquee property for ESPN+ at launch. Fast forward to today, and it still is the marquee property for ESPN+.
“We also at the same time believe that we have been a great partner to the UFC in terms of our promotion, in terms of our commitment to the sport of mixed martial arts and specifically the UFC across our studio programming across dot com, the ESPN app.”
While Pitaro paints a pretty picture when it comes to the symbiotic relationship between ESPN and the UFC, there have been some volatile moments as well.
Perhaps none bigger than the turmoil surrounding the UFC 313 broadcast where fans and even fighters grew increasingly frustrated over the inability to purchase or watch the pay-per-view. Afterwards, sources told MMA Fighting that UFC executives were absolutely “furious” over the technical difficulties that plagued the broadcast and that wasn’t the first time it’s happened.
There’s no telling how this all plays out just yet but serious discussions about where the UFC goes next start on Tuesday after the exclusive negotiating window with ESPN comes to a close.
Any word on the future of illegal streams? My degenerate friends tell me they have sucked lately.
I recognize about 3 of those names.
Dana White recently addressed the impending conclusion of the UFC’s broadcast rights deal with ESPN.
The exclusive negotiating window between the UFC and ESPN is set to close on Tuesday, allowing the promotion to explore other agreements with other networks for 2026 onwards.
The UFC inked a five-year, $1.5 billion deal with ESPN in 2018 for domestic broadcast rights, commencing in 2019. This agreement was extended by two years in early 2019, incorporating pay-per-view streaming rights.
Speaking at the UFC 314 post-fight press conference, White commented on the situation.
“When the window opens, we’ll obviously start talking to lots of different people and we’ll see what the options are out there. We’ve said this every time: There could be a time when we end up on several different networks like all other sports do. I like ESPN. I’ve said it many times: We had a bit of a rocky start, which is normal in any relationship, but we’re in a great place with ESPN. Whether we re-sign with them or do not, I have nothing but great things to say about my time at ESPN.”
White was also asked about maintaining the current event format, which saw 42 events in 2024.
“I don’t know. It depends on what ESPN or wherever else we go is looking for. Most of the times when you do these deals, you’re catering to what the network needs. Plus, they’ll have other programming, other sports that they’re already committed to at certain times and seasons and whatever it may be. It always changes. It doesn’t matter to me.”
White also commented on a Bloomberg report suggesting the UFC is seeking over $1 billion annually for its new broadcast rights deal, stating, “Sounds good to me.”
With the possibility of the UFC following WWE’s move to Netflix, the question of the pay-per-view model’s future arose.
“We do what works for the network – what do they want to do? Do they want to just put it on their air? Do they want to do pay-per-view? Do they want to put it behind a paywall? I don’t know any of those things. Tuesday, the window opens and we start talking to other networks and we’ll get more into that.”
CLOSED/