UFC owners explain why promotion is so attractive to potential broadcast partners even compared to NFL
It’s possible that 2025 ends up as the biggest and most important year in UFC history.
That’s because in just a few weeks, the promotion is preparing to begin negotiations on a new broadcast rights deal that could double or even triple the amount of revenue the UFC potentially receives over the next decade. A seven-year deal with ESPN is coming to a close and while UFC executives have offered nothing but glowing praise about the relationship built with the Disney-owned company, there are going to be plenty of suitors interested in those broadcast rights.
Mark Shapiro, the TKO Group Holdings (UFC parent company) president and chief operating officer, laid out a few of the reasons why the UFC is such a valuable property right now even when compared to a broadcast rights juggernaut like the NFL.
“You [look] the UFC and what do you have there? You have a year-round property,” Shapiro explained during the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference. “Year-round, there’s no breaks. It’s happening every single weekend. WWE, by the way the same thing, but just on the UFC side that’s what you have. That’s a real antidote for churn.
“We’re also the owner and the commissioner, throw the coach in there, too. There’s no bureaucracy. There’s no 32 teams we have to meet in a hotel once a quarter and have a meeting to determine something. It’s happening in one small office in Stamford [for WWE] or one small office in Vegas [for UFC].”
The UFC maintains total autonomy over every aspect of the company’s business from production to promotion to fighter pay, which is vastly different from many team sports where owners typically vote for any major changes that take place. Players from almost every major team sport are also represented by a union or athlete association, which does not exist in the UFC.
Add to that, Shapiro says the age of the audience watching the UFC makes the organization a highly coveted asset for any potential broadcast partner.
“Almost half of our audience, for WWE and UFC, is 18-34,” Shapiro said. “If you can get folks to make buying decisions in that demo, there’s a good chance they’re going to hang onto that for the rest of their lives. No different than Crest toothpaste. That’s how it works.
“There’s all kinds of apps we bought in my house that we don’t even watch but I don’t think to cancel them. You can use UFC to get those young folks into habit and signing up for your platform.”
With no major sports property coming available again for a broadcast rights deal for the next three years, the UFC‘s timing couldn’t be even better heading into 2025.
The options are also much more robust, especially with major players like Netflix getting involved in live streaming sports after striking deals with the NFL as well as a massive 10 year/$5 billion deal to land WWE’s flagship show Monday Night Raw.
Of course networks still on broadcast television aren’t just going to give up potential ratings to streamers like Netflix so Shapiro expects plenty of interest in the UFC’s next deal.
“You’ve got David Ellison coming in with Skydance to buy Paramount and CBS so there’s change there,” Shapiro said. “You’ve got Mark Lazarus spinning off the NBC assets, there’s change there. You’ve got ESPN and flagship, which will be launched in 2025 so there’s change there. Just the dynamic winds of change on these platforms, technology, media, that’s building demand for sports.
“Of course streaming where you’ve got Netflix in 285 million homes, not just looking to add more but to keep what they have. You’ve got HBO on the precipice, Warner Bros. of getting rid of the password sharing so they can join the club. You’ve got Amazon doing their thing. You’ve got Apple and what they’re doing with [Major League Soccer]. So the streamers see sports as a real recipe for success as they look to acquire and retain [subscribers].”
As far as what the UFC plans to offer potential partners, Shapiro remarked that the promotion is leaving everything on the table.
Does that mean splitting up the UFC’s broadcast rights among multiple outlets?
Could that result in adding even more fight cards to appease a potential partner?
What about ending pay-per-view broadcasts in favor of landing with a high-paying subscription based streamer?
According to Shapiro, the answer is all of the above.
“We’re going to maximize price for our shareholders and we’re going to maximize brand and reach potential for our own properties,” Shapiro said. “That means almost as much as price. I can’t say enough and I’ve said t at ad nauseum about ESPN and Disney and the way they’ve supported and grown and marketed and just creatively gotten behind the UFC. Just been an extraordinary partner and FOX, by the way, was an extraordinary partner before that. But ESPN just has so much reach and the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, came up in sports so he gets it. He gets the storytelling, he gets the reach, he gets engagement. [ESPN chairman] Jimmy Pitaro’s been a phenomenal partner.
“So we’ll be looking to maximize price and we’ll be looking to also do what’s right for the health of our brand. If that means splitting up the packages or creating new packages, or potentially adding fights and dates, we’re willing to do all of the above.”