The window for the UFC to sign a new broadcast rights deal will officially open in January 2025, but talk about the start of the next deal will begin even earlier.
ESPN now owns the rights to all UFC content, including pay-per-view broadcasts, after signing a seven-year deal with the promotion following its stint with FOX. The partnership between UFC and ESPN is beneficial for both parties, especially for the growth of ESPN+, which has grown exponentially since the streaming service became the primary home for his MMA organization.
That said, TKO Group Holdings President Mark Shapiro recently revealed that multiple bidders have already inquired about keeping the UFC's broadcast fights open when negotiations begin later this year.
“It's our preference to remain at Disney because of this history,” Shapiro said at Morgan Stanley's Tech Media Telecom Conference. “But we improvised and he had three different platforms inquire about that window you're talking about. We inquired about when we could sit down with them and discuss moving to another platform. .Correct deal.
“But the window opens in January. There's no reason we can't start talking about it sooner.”
It's impossible to know which three platforms Shapiro is referring to, but it appears that many streaming outlets have become more involved in live sports programming in recent years. Amazon's Prime Video, for example, paid $1 billion a year for exclusive rights to the NFL's Thursday Night Football schedule. Apple spent $250 million per season to bring Major League Soccer to its platform.
Netflix, which has traditionally stayed away from live sports, is pivoting with the upcoming Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match and also bringing WWE's flagship series “Monday Night Raw” to its streaming service. Needless to say, we have signed a huge contract worth 5 billion dollars to introduce the system. Ten years.
Shapiro never mentioned Netflix's name when discussing the UFC, but he did talk about the network expanding into more live event programming after signing a deal with WWE.
“This is a groundbreaking deal,” Shapiro said of the WWE-Netflix deal. “This is an industry-changing deal. This is a transformative deal. Netflix. [Netflix always said]”We're not going to be in live sports,” even though WWE is a quasi-live sport, “we're not going to be in it,” and everyone wonders when the code will be cracked. We waited and we cracked the code.
“That's $5 billion over 10 years, very tangible revenue. It's high-margin revenue. It's locked in, and it repeats itself. That alone de-risked the entire merger. Netflix itself They have incredible reach and scale around the world, and it's a global deal. They're a marketing powerhouse. People forget that.”
Netflix is dabbling in martial arts for the next fight between Paul and Tyson, so there's a good chance the UFC is next on the wish list.
Still, Shapiro says the UFC relationship at ESPN remains strong, especially considering the two brands have found real synergy since their initial partnership.
“ESPN and Disney are the best partners we've ever had,” Shapiro said. “If only we could recreate that on Netflix.” [with WWE], we will be golden. they play sports. They are fans of the sport. Frankly, it was Bob Iger who saw that vision. It was his decision to chew on everything in the UFC, including pay-per-views, but [ESPN chairman] Jimmy Pitaro and Burke Magnus [Rosalyn] Durant, who is currently in charge of programming, is a huge fan of the UFC and supports the organization in every way.
“Very sociable; sports Center They can accommodate news content, short-form content, and long-form content, and work with you to adjust your schedule to provide the optimal window. They want more UFC, not less UFC. By the way, they have a pretty tightly packed programming sheet. Their schedules, their calendars, are packed. What I want to tell you is that we love the power of marketing. ”
Shapiro said ESPN has a lot on its plate in the coming months, as the NBA also seeks a new broadcast rights deal that would dwarf its previous deal, which was split among numerous media partners. I admit that. The UFC could be affected depending on who ends up making it to the NBA and whether another media outlet suddenly needs more content.
“I'm interested to see what happens in the NBA,” Shapiro said. “That's going to affect us too. Are we getting more content? Are we getting less content?”
“I'm really excited to see how this goes. What's going on with ESPN's flagship, ESPN+, obviously the cable bundle is completely collapsing, and ABC feels like it's kind of coming back to life right now. So we… I look forward to working with them behind the scenes to understand what the next chapter of our partnership will be.”
