https://www.mmanews.com/news/report-dana-white-espn-explore-future-partnership
1 Like
UFC President Dana White is set to meet with top ESPN executives to discuss potentially extending their partnership.
White said in a recent interview with Sports Business Journal that he’s scheduled to meet with Endeavor President Mark Shapiro and ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro in the next month to discuss the UFC/ESPN partnership. The current broadcasting rights deal is set to expire in 2025.
The UFC and ESPN began their partnership in 2019 with the addition of the ESPN+ subscription. ESPN+ is now the exclusive provider of UFC pay-per-view cards, including the upcoming UFC 290 event next month.
The ESPN deal has continued to push the UFC’s global popularity.
Dana White & UFC Set To Discuss Future With ESPN
“We are proud stewards of UFC and the UFC’s business, and we value that relationship tremendously," ESPN Vice President of Combat Sports Programming Matt Kenny said in a statement. "So we want to do whatever we can to grow our business and also grow the UFC’s business.”
Before the UFC’s deal with ESPN, Fox Sports, and the now-defunct Spike TV were the broadcasting homes of the promotion.
1 Like
They’re going to tell Dana " any more cards from the apex and you can stick the UFC up your big black ass"
5 Likes
I hope so. UFC has lost a lot of hype with these past few cards. Although last weeks Fight Night card delivered the months before had trash ppv and fight nights that didn’t
2 Likes
Ugh I hope not. They need a new partner that doesn’t require so many shows, which is the reason cards are so watered down.
6 Likes
The UFC needs to only do pay per views once a month.
No fight nights, let other promotions do then for a fee
4 Likes
Good to see you here my friend.
1 Like
In the first few years of the deal with ESPN, the UFC was a significant driver of subscription growth for ESPN+. Between the first quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2022, ESPN’s streaming service subscriptions increased from 1. 4 million to 21.3 million.May 3, 2023
1 Like
How much is ESPN paying UFC?
ESPN has acquired the UFC television package under a five-year, $150 million/year deal that begins in 2019,
How much did ESPN pay the UFC for broadcast rights?
The UFC reached a five-year, $1.5 billion agreement with Pitaro and the Worldwide Leader upon expiry of the Fox contract. Bolstered by ESPN’s packaging, the UFC has become one of the most entertaining organizations in sports.
1 Like
Because it’s Has no atmosphere.you need a crowd to make noise, it’s like a sparring session
otherwise
A band rehearsal instead of a full on gig
2 Likes
nailed it
1 Like
I hate UFC on ESPN because there’s always some women’s softball game or curling or something that runs long and makes me miss the first few fights.
The fact that the UFC continues to get paid so much from ESPN to put these shows on in their back shed reeks of financial imporpriaty and fraud
ESPN is being taken for a bunch of suckers.
They’re paying good money for a substandard product
It really makes ya miss the Spike tv days.
4 Likes
So you hated massive 70,000 person Pride events because they were too silent too?
To each their own!
Big crowds can add atmosphere for sure but it doesn’t ruin it for me without one.
I understand the difference, don’t get the big deal. Biggest fights are never there anyway.
1 Like
Who else would the ufc go to at this point? Amazon prime?