Say goodbye to pay-per-view.
Paramount is purchasing the rights to UFC in a landmark $7.7 billion deal over seven years beginning in 2026, the companies announced in a statement Monday, in a move that will eliminate the pay-per-view model. All of the UFC’s events will now be accessible with only a Paramount+ subscription, and select numbered events will also air on CBS.
“This historic deal with Paramount and CBS is incredible for UFC fans and our athletes,” UFC president Dana White said in a statement. “For the first time ever, fans in the U.S. will have access to all UFC content without a Pay-Per-View model, making it more affordable and accessible to view the greatest fights on a massive platform. This deal puts UFC amongst the biggest sports in the world. The exposure provided by the Paramount and CBS networks under this new structure is a huge win for our athletes and anyone who watches and loves this sport.”
ESPN, UFC’s current rightsholder, has been using a pay-per-view model, which TKO Group president Mark Shapiro called “a thing of the past.”
ESPN and Disney owned UFC’s rights for the last five years while paying an average of $500 million per year.
The deal with Disney expires at the end of this year.
With the Skydance-Paramount deal closing this past Thursday, TKO Group — which owns the UFC and WWE — was able to come to an agreement rather quickly, according to CEO David Ellison, who spoke to the Financial Times.
Paramount and CBS have had a longstanding relationship with the NFL, and this deal should continue to bring mixed martial arts to the forefront of sports programming.
“When you look at the incredible portfolio of sports that Paramount has with the NFL, Uefa, Masters and March Madness, there really was a lull in the summer, and now with the UFC, we really do have a very strong year-long sports offering on both Paramount+ and CBS,” Ellison told the Financial Times.
CBS will air the Super Bowl in 2028, when they will be in year two of their deal with the UFC.
There was talk earlier this year of UFC potentially linking up with Netflix, not to mention a possible ESPN renewal.
In addition to the U.S. rights of UFC, Paramount is said to be “interested in buying UFC’s international rights,” according to CNBC.
The UFC deal comes days after WWE landed a five-year, $1.6 billion deal with ESPN to have their premium live events streamed on their new direct-to-consumer app.
