Jump to content

UFC, ESPN+ reach multiyear deal for live fights


Recommended Posts

http://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/23440573/ufc-espn+-reach-multiyear-media-rights-agreement



The Walt Disney Company and UFC have reached a multiyear deal to bring exclusive live UFC Fight Night events to ESPN+, effective January 2019.



ESPN announced the new partnership Tuesday. The deal, which is the first media-rights agreement between ESPN and UFC, calls for up to 15 live "UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night" events per year, with 12 bouts on each card.



"UFC is a premier global sports property with legions of incredibly avid fans," ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro said. "We are excited to be able to bring their world-class events and content to ESPN+ and ESPN Networks. This agreement shows the commitment we have to delivering fans the very best across our entire platform."



In addition to live events, ESPN will air UFC content across multiple platforms, including a 30-minute special prior to every UFC pay-per-view event. Re-airs of previous fights will also be made available on ESPN platforms.



ESPN+ will also carry the UFC's Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series, beginning in June 2019.



"I couldn't be more excited to partner with The Walt Disney Company and ESPN on an agreement that will continue to grow our sport," UFC president Dana White said. "UFC has always done deals with the right partners at the right time and this one is no exception. We will now have the ability to deliver fights to our young fan base wherever they are and whenever they want. This deal is a home run for ESPN and UFC."



The Walt Disney Company launched ESPN+, its direct-to-consumer platform, last month. The UFC will continue to operate its direct-to-consumer platform, UFC Fight Pass, as well.



The UFC is coming off a seven-year, exclusive media rights deal with Fox, which was signed in 2011. That deal placed the UFC on network television for the first time in its relatively young history. The UFC was founded in 1993.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's a good move for expanding the sport in the casual fan pool. Espn will push them much harder now and be more likely to play highlights on sportscenter. It's a bit of a thumb in the eye for hardcore fans to make them come out of pocket for another streaming service past fightpass. I would think the espn cards will be higher prestige then the fightpass only cards and the fightpass prelim quality has been slipping since the WME sale. It's getting to be harder for me to justify paying for fightpass when it is so easily found elsewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are they moving TUF to ESPN as well? I want to see what happens during College Foorball season when multiple ESPN channels are showing nothing but football games, it's not like MMA has a season like most every other sport.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...