The UFCâs broadcasting rights were reportedly close to going to Netflix before a last-second snag in negotiations between the two sides.
The UFC is less than four months away from kicking off its newly signed broadcast partnership with Paramount and CBS. The promotionâs first event on its new broadcasting platform will take place in January.
The UFC and Paramount agreed to a massive broadcasting deal that set the standard for combat sports exclusivity. Joe Rogan and other top UFC personalities have high hopes for the UFCâs new broadcasting chapter.
UFC CEO Dana White recently announced that post-fight performance bonuses will increase once the deal goes into effect in January. The UFC has been with ESPN for almost a full decade.
But according to TKO, the UFCâs parent company, the MMA giant neared a deal with Netflix before things went south.
UFC-Netflix partnership fell apart after the streaming platform refused to broadcast smaller cards
During a recent interview with The Varsity, TKO President Mark Shapiro detailed what went wrong with the UFCâs negotiations with Netflix.
âThere was one moment of disappointment. And that was when we were getting pretty close with Netflix, frankly, and they kind of stood by the fact that they didnât want to have the volume,â Shapiro said.
âOver the course of conversations, they really didnât come off of that. And thatâs what opened the door for Paramount and CBS.â (h/t Awful Announcing)
Netflix has since promoted huge fights, including the boxing mega showdown last weekend between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez. Crawford defeated Alvarez by unanimous decision to win Alvarezâs super middleweight belts.
The upcoming matchup between Jake Paul and longtime boxing star Gervonta Davis in November will be broadcast on Netflix.
The UFC will hold several âmajorâ events annually on CBS, in addition to several UFC Fight Night cards. Itâs uncertain if the promotion will still host events near-weekly or if the card volume will decrease.
Donât blame Netflix. Why would you want to broadcast an event at the Apex building with 50 people in attendance to watch two barely ranked fighters most people have never heard of? AND be expected to pay 1billion a year for it?
Even Netflix thinks the cards are watered down!
I get that they donât want 50 events but then you just promote some of them less than other ones. Howâs that so difficult this sounds like an excuse.
Netflix is on the way down and they have missed a great chance to recapture some of its male audience
This doesnât make sense. They want the UFC, but want them to produce less content?!?!
or are they saying they want every event to be A-list and no Apex shows and the UFC said no to that?!?!
Netflix wanted what all UFC fans want, a less watered down product.
I love getting high quality fights every week personally
I was hoping for a Netflix deal until Paramount came in out of left field & stole the show. And Iâm glad they did. IMO, it would have sucked having the UFC on 2 different streaming networks. One being of a lower tier showing Fight Nights. I much prefer having all content in one place.
In before the âthese smaller cards with the no name fighters usually put on the best fightsâ myth that some fucking retard will say
From previous comments it sounds like that was the direction they were heading.
Numbered events on Netflix and Fight Nights on Paramount.
Then Paramount came with a huge offer for all of it after their merger went through.
It was very nearly a done deal
Netflix dodged a bullet.
How do you think the âno-name fightersâ gain experience, build their resumes & become stars?
They fight on Fight Night cards.
All youâre telling me is that youâre the type of fan who only watches the big events. And thereâs nothing wrong with that. Just donât profess to be a die-hard MMA fan because youâre clearly not.
How so?
Thatâs how it used to be and it was amazing. Now I canât bother to watch the constant barrage of shit shows with no names on them
I am no longer a die hard fan. There was a time I knew every fighter on every card, even the prelims. I followed it closely and was obsessed with the sport. I liked it enough that I even decided to do it myself, and spent a decade training and had some fights.
When I watch it now, half the fights just seem like sparring matches and the commentary team spends half the fights talking about how effective some dudes feints are lol
And itâs billy with the worst take on this forum as usual.
If I want to Watch no name Fighters, I can go to a local Event, or thereâs plenty of small Shows out there. The UFC ISNT for that, And doenst need 400 no name fighters. I know youâre a boxing dork, So you think itâs normal to have top hevag cards full of nobodies to waste everybodyâs money, but us MMA guys remember when cards were stacked top to bottom, not just with the UFC, but Pride too
The truth lies somewhere in the middle, you both are making solid points but you both are reaching to fit your narrative.
Have I seen apex cards thar shit on a the last PPV as far as excitement? Absolutely
Do I need to know every fighterâs name to enjoy watching a fight? No
Do I get more hyped for an event when I know who will be competing? Absolutely
Is there a negative to having 100 new faces on an event? Marketability tanks
Am I going to turn on any event and still be glued to the tv watching athletes compete? As long as they dont shadowbox and âkyaâ everytime they throw a strike.. (ladies honorable mention)
Good fights make good events, not popular fighters. Try remembering when you first started watching MMA and the fighters that were your longtime favorites were just starting out.
You have to accept new faces to the sport or it dies.
Fighters have retired. New fighters moved in to replace them.
The sport grew and the roster size increased.
The real thing is the UFC needs to do a better job of getting the top talent on the PPV cards. When you water down the Marketability of a PPV with the unknown fighters they see the result they have had over he last few years.. PPV buys tank, but that doesnât mean the unknown fights are boring..
I am thrilled for Paramount, I just hope we still see exciting scraps every week. I am thrilled that being a fan wont cost me an arm and a leg. I may even use the money I previously bought PPVs with and go to an event next year, itâs been 3 years since my last time.