The fights will be streamed live for Paramount subscribers without any additional paywalls, bucking the pay-per-view model ESPN+ has utilized in the past. The Disney-owned streamer’s deal with TKO Group, the UFC’s parent company, expires at the end of this year. Paramount will also simulcast some events on CBS.
In a statement, TKO Group’s president Mark Shapiro celebrated the change. “The pay-per-view model is a thing of the past,” he said, per CNBC. “What’s on pay-per-view anymore? Boxing? Movies on DirecTV? It’s an outdated, antiquated model. So, it was paramount to us—forgive the pun—where it’s one-stop shopping, especially for our younger fans in flyover states. When they find out, ‘Wait, if I just sign up for Paramount+ for $12.99 a month, I’m going to automatically get UFC’s numbered fights and the rest of the portfolio?’ That’s a message we want to amplify.”
New Paramount CEO David Ellison, a self-described UFC fan, expressed that he wanted to secure the pricey package due to the dearth of new sports rights currently available to streamers, CNBC reports. (The outlet points out that Formula 1 will likely go to Apple, while Major League Baseball is waiting until 2028 to reorganize its media packages.) “UFC is a unicorn asset that comes up about once a decade,” Ellison said of the deal. Paramount is reportedly also interested in purchasing UFC’s international rights, but those are only available on a rolling basis. For now, the streamer’s fights will remain on U.S. soil.
