Tag: tv deal

UFC, ESPN announce exclusive PPV distribution deal, TV deal extension

Posted on by Josh Nason

MMA fans have long had to evolve how they watch their favorite promotions with the recent push by both UFC and Bellator MMA into streaming deals with ESPN+ and DAZN, respectively.

That continued change took another step Monday afternoon as the world’s largest fight promotion announced a deal with ESPN that will see UFC’s pay-per-view era with traditional cable providers come to a close.

Starting with April’s UFC 236 through 2025, fans in the U.S. looking to buy one of the company’s 12 yearly PPVs will have one option to do so: ESPN+, the “exclusive distributor of UFC PPV events” and the “single point of purchase for customers” as outlined in a press release. 

The cost per show is also decreasing from $64.99 to $59.99 per event, but you must be an ESPN+ subscriber ($4.99/mo) in order to be able to buy PPVs. The two sides are experimenting with bundling, offering a $79.99 ESPN+ yearly subscription and PPV event combo for new subscribers. 

In the release, UFC retains the rights for their bar and restaurant business, but the era of being able to buy through cable providers like Comcast, DirecTV, Spectrum, or others is over effective immediately. In his press release quote, UFC president Dana White mentioned the company’s “young fan base” — a nod toward one of the reasons the decision was made. 

The revenue split between ESPN and UFC wasn’t announced, but cable companies historically got half of the PPV take for distribution, and one would think that model would be different with this move.

Along with the news, UFC and ESPN announced a two-year extension of their TV rights deal through 2025 less than three months after their five-year deal kicked off.

Details emerge on how WWE, UFC TV deals came together

Posted on by Josh Nason

The Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand provided inside details on the recently completed WWE and UFC TV deals that saw the companies lock in more than $4 billion in rights fees over the next five years.

Here’s some of the key details from the article (subscription needed):

– The initial $450 million media rights value number that floated around the UFC rights came from a bid book and was an issue with prospective bidders. WME-IMG (no endeavor) said the number was essentially a placeholder and had to devise a strategy to overcome that and get some players in the mix.

– Due to what they believed could be a $400 million/year investment, Fox executives had resigned themselves to three options with the UFC: $200 million for less content, a split package with another network, or a complete exit.

– The reason Ari Emanuel of Endeavor was removed from the WWE TV rights negotations, despite being asked by Vince McMahon to head them up, was due to Fox Sports’ Eric Shanks telling McMahon it was a conflict of interest to have Emanuel negotiate both deals. CAA, a rival firm, was hired instead, which irked Emanuel.

– WWE leadership met with ESPN four times from December 2017 through the spring of 2018, but giving 52 weeks to a product wasn’t viable, nor was putting WWE content on ESPN+ due to the WWE Network.

– After UFC signed with the deal with ESPN for the initial $150 million package, a meeting with Emanuel, Endeavor’s Mark Shapiro, and Disney CEO Bob Iger brought about the other half of the deal. During a meeting Emanuel and Shapiro had with Viacom, the two got the word via text that ESPN wanted the entire package for $300 million. Interestingly, Viacom owns Bellator MMA.

– CAA presented NBCUniversal with a $265 million/year offer for Raw and $200 million/year for SmackDown. After the exclusive negotiation window passed and NBCU chose to retain Raw but let SmackDown go, Fox and WWE had essentially negotiated the SmackDown deal the next day.

– Turner Sports showed interest in both WWE and UFC, but due to their ongoing litigation with the Department of Justice over their prospective $84 billion merger with AT&T, they weren’t a real player in either.

– Having new ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro in the mix instead of former president John Skipper helped make a deal possible as the latter wasn’t a fan of the UFC.

Bellator MMA revamps TV deal and schedule

Posted on by Josh Nason

In a move that will increase revenue and will also hopefully boost ratings, Bellator MMA announced a restructuring of their TV product Tuesday at a press conference.

The company will pare back on their schedule to 22 events a year with 15 airing on Paramount Network and seven exclusively moving to DAZN, a streaming service geared towards sports fans that has not yet launched in the U.S. The 15 Paramount shows will also air on DAZN (pronounced Da Zone) and will include eight “tentpole” shows. 

The deal kicks off on September 29th with the much-discussed Gegard Mousasi vs. Rory MacDonald San Jose event that will also feature Rampage Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva 4. That show will air exclusively on DAZN.

The promotion said the deal was a nine-figure, multi-year agreement. DAZN didn’t announce a price point, but will offer a one-month free trial when they launch. They are already available in other countries including Canada where DAZN is available for $20/month or $150 for a year. 

For MMA fans in the U.S., the deal is an interesting one as it presents another paywall in order to watch previously free content. Paired with the UFC’s recently announced deal with ESPN+ that kicks off in 2019, fans that want to watch everything will be paying more for MMA content starting this fall.

From a brand perspective, less shows for Bellator is a major plus. With a thin roster, it was hard for them to put on consistent quality fight cards with stakes on the now former Spike TV, especially in those months where they did multiple shows. Ratings have been down over the past year, especially for the non-tentpole events.

This move also seems to fit more into the new vision for Paramount Network and brings in an additional revenue stream for Viacom (owners of Paramount and Bellator) that didn’t previously exist. Whether this means the end of a return to pay per view remains to be seen.

Additionally, it allows the promotion to find an audience in regions that have DAZN but don’t otherwise have access to Bellator programming. 

ESPN takes entire UFC TV package

Posted on by Josh Nason

This story was updated at 4 PM Eastern.

Two weeks after ESPN officially got into the UFC game with 15 shows for its OTT platform, the Disney-owned sports media giant doubled down, adding another 27 events to its package that begins in 2019, ending the Fox era.

Variety had the scoop in the early morning hours of Wednesday that the Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand confirmed and added more details to. The official announcement came Wednesday afternoon via a press release in which they touted UFC’s claim that they have the youngest fanbase among major pro sports organizations (40) and an audience of 40% millennials. They didn’t reveal where that info came from.

The new deal is for five years and a total value of $1.5 billion. ESPN outbid Fox Sports for the contract that kicks off in earnest this January. Ourand said NBC Sports and Turner Sports were also interested.

The breakdown of shows, courtesy of Ourand, is as follows:

– 20 yearly ESPN+ events
– 10 yearly shows on ESPN linear TV
– 12 yearly PPV prelim events on ESPN linear

UFC will run 12 PPVs per a year while Fight Pass exclusive shows weren’t mentioned. Per Dana White via ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, UFC will continue to handle TV production. This is unlike other sports that have deals with ESPN, say the NFL, which ESPN handles full production for, including commentators.

The amount is over twice what UFC was receiving in their Fox deal for prelims, FS1 Fight Nights, and shoulder programming.

Dave Meltzer and others had said UFC had a standing offer of $200 million from Fox for a package of shows even after the initial ESPN deal. Given Fox’s reported 5 year, $1 billion deal for WWE SmackDown, questions remain on how that affected negotiations and whose decision it was to move on.

If all reported numbers from the past week come to pass, WWE’s annual North American TV contract values for Raw and SmackDown would be more than UFC’s, something that just a year ago seemed highly unlikely.

WWE stock prices climb to record high following TV rights rumors

Posted on by Josh Nason

After rumors surfaced Wednesday night that NBCUniversal wants to bring back Raw to USA Network at three times the current contract value, WWE’s stock value hit record highs Thursday.

As of 1 PM Eastern, the stock was trading at $50.21 a share, up from $43.60 at the close of business Wednesday and good for a near 15% increase. Earlier Thursday, they crested past $51 a share, their record high.

The company’s TV contract is up next year and the Hollywood Reporter reported that NBCU wants to bring back Raw for nearly three times what they currently receive while choosing to not renew SmackDown. Fox has been rumored to also be a suitor for WWE programming, opening up the possibility of bringing the Tuesday night show to Fox Sports One. They could still be interested in Raw for the Fox network depending on the cost.

WWE hasn’t commented publicly on any of the news.

Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel of Endeavor is negotiating both the WWE deal as well as the UFC TV contract.

Report: NBCUniversal to renew WWE Raw, SD being shopped around

Posted on by Josh Nason

According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday, NBCUniversal is looking to bring back WWE Raw at a hefty increase while declining to re-up WWE SmackDown, allowing the company to shop the Tuesday night staple around to other media outlets.

The report said that the Raw deal “is expected to close at as much as three times its current value” and would remain on USA Network. They added that Fox is a potential suitor for SmackDown, a network that had been rumored for months for Raw as well.

If accurate, this would follow the divide-and-conquer plan that UFC is currently incorporating as their deal with Fox is up this year. They recently announced 15 events are heading to new digital partner ESPN+ starting in 2019 but they have not announced a plan for a traditional broadcast/cable partner as of yet.

After a run on network TV, NBCUniversal brought SmackDown into the fold in 2010, first airing it on Syfy and moving it to USA in January 2016. 

UFC, ESPN+ to air 15 events starting in January 2019

Posted on by Josh Nason

The UFC isn’t yet at their reported $400 million a year goal for their TV rights, but they got a bit closer on Tuesday morning as the promotion announced they have entered into an agreement with ESPN to air 15 Fight Night events on ESPN’s new OTT service, ESPN+, beginning in January 2019.

The five-year deal is for $150 million annually. according to the Sports Business Journal who had the story first. Additionally, they added this kills any chance another streaming provider could get in the mix as it’s an exclusive deal.

Each show will have the usual 12 fights and will be available exclusively on the platform, which currently costs $4.99/mo or $49.99 for a year-long subscription.

Additional ESPN+ content

Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series will also move exclusively to ESPN+ in the summer of June 2019, a show originally exclusive to UFC Fight Pass. 

Additionally, ESPN will produce exclusive pre and post fight shows for the 15 events and a “new original, all-access series” produced by IMG Original content. Interestingly, the press release also states that ESPN+ subscribers will get “non-exclusive access to UFC’s full archive of programming, including historic events, classic bouts, and original programming” and “additional UFC-branded content, including “UFC Countdown” shows, press conferences, weigh-ins, and pre-and post-shows”, diminishing one of the selling points of Fight Pass.

ESPN+ subscribers will also be able to buy PPVs and Fight Pass subscriptions.

What about “big” ESPN?

In the release, ESPN said they will air exclusive preview shows for PPVs, “hundreds of hours of UFC library programming” and “re-airs of current UFC PPVs” but nothing about live events. This is a play to give people a reason to pay for their relatively new OTT service, hence the heavy price tag for just 15 shows a year.

What about Fox?

As anyone that follows UFC knows, they run a lot more than 15 shows a year, so a broadcast partner is still needed. SBJ said no broadcast deal was imminent, but as a Variety report from mid-April speculated, ESPN and Fox Sports were proposing to team up for a deal that would cover all the bases.

With 15 events off the table, one would assume a broadcast deal would include 15-20 shows depending on the company’s plans for both PPV and Fight Pass and assuming they want to keep running at the current shows per year level they have in recent years. 

Report: ESPN, Fox proposing to team up for new UFC TV deal

Posted on by Josh Nason

Variety reported Tuesday that ESPN and Fox have proposed a multi-network approach to televise the UFC once the organization’s existing deal with Fox runs out.

According to the report, ESPN’s contribution would be between $120-$180 million a year while Fox would increase its yearly commit to just over $200 million, coming somewhat closer to the reported $400 million a year owners Endeavor were looking for when they purchased the organization for more than $4 billion.

What’s in it for ESPN?

While much maligned in the media due to the rise in cord cutting over the past few years, the Disney-owned sports entity is betting big on the future of their OTT service, ESPN+. The service launched last week for $4.99 a month and the deal would bring up to 15 live events to the platform, according to the report.

What’s in it for Fox?

If you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of UFC on both Fox Sports One and Fox Sports Two, both in live event programming, replays, and hours upon hours of “shoulder” programming. While the report says their overall amount of shows would decline, they certainly wouldn’t be paying $200 million a year to have the amount of shows decline by that much.

All of this comes at an interesting time for both companies considering their recent deal in which many Fox-owned properties were sold to Disney. The two share co-ownership rights on several college football properties int addition to Major League Soccer.

So, what about PPV?

The piece didn’t mention how any of this would affect the company’s PPV future. Fans know that the company’s offerings last year and this year have waned in value, outside a few big exceptions, due to injuries, missed weight cuts, and light card depth. If two companies were involved in the rights, one would have to think some of those borderline PPVs would change to live events instead with an emphasis on bigger PPVs with the company’s bigger draws.

So, what about Fight Pass?

The company has taken a much different attitude toward Fight Pass than when they hired former Rivals.com head Eric Winter several years ago. (He left shortly after the Endeavor purchase.) While they still air a few exclusive shows and a few fights on fight nights, it’s essentially just access to a tape library and live events from regional promotions. Endeavor recently purchased streaming provider Neulion for $250 million, leading to speculation the company might just move everything onto their own OTT platform. If the ESPN/Fox alliance comes through, fans can at least hope for better quality streaming than they are accustomed to now, especially with the archived footage.

So, what about WWE?

The other factor is all of this is WWE who has reportedly been courted by Fox. This potential move doesn’t necessarily kill that as the “new” Fox is moving quickly toward more live event/sports programming on their remaining properties. It might affect the money offered in a deal, but with new Disney cash, that still might be another big splash they want to make. 

JNPO: Richard Deitsch on Ronda Rousey, WWE/UFC TV deals

Posted on by Josh Nason

On the 99th edition of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, yours truly talked with one of my favorite podcasters to listen to, sports media columnist and podcaster Richard Deitsch, formerly of Sports Illustrated and now of The Athletic and Toronto’s Fan 590 and SportsNet.

We talked for 40 minutes on a variety of topics on the combat sports media medium which included:

– His decision to depart SI after years on the job.

– His past dealings with our Dave Meltzer.

– His insight into Ronda Rousey’s recent media snafus on ESPN TV and what WWE’s conundrum if she doesn’t want to talk about UFC.

– His observations on WWE’s biggest and most important media week of the year.

– His thoughts on both the impending WWE and UFC TV deals and the complications UFC is facing in their current negotiations.

Get all that and more on a WrestleMania weekend edition of JNPO:

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JNPO: The one about UFC and WWE TV deals, pt. 1

Posted on by Josh Nason

It’s WrestleMania season, but it’s also TV rights deal season for the two major players in the combat sports industry: UFC and WWE.

As we turn the corner on the first quarter of 2018, there’s still no indication of where either will land, but there’s a lot of intrigue as what their moves will be, what they’ll mean to future TV deals with other leagues, and what that will meant to presenting their individual products in the future.

Joining me to discuss this in the first of a few focused podcasts on the TV rights business is sports media reporter and podcaster Andrew Bucholtz of Awful Announcing and The Comeback, someone who has been on the case for quite some time. 

On the docket:

– How the MMA union/association movement can learn a few things from the Canadian Football League players association

– A deep dive into the current situation the UFC find themselves in, including the lack of interested parties and why that is

– A look at the streaming players and how they fit into the equation, if at all

– The unusual coincidence that both WWE and UFC are going for new deals at the same time and how Ari Emanuel is negotiating both

– The future of PPV and how’s it far from dead…and much more.

Enjoy this free JNPO now:

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UFC reaches new TV deal with Fox Networks Group Latin America

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

UFC announced yesterday a new television deal with Fox Networks Group Latin America.

FNG will air UFC pay-per-view events, Fight Nights, the Ultimate Fighter reality show, and other events with the new deal that starts on Saturday with the Stipe Miocic vs. Junior Dos Santos headlined UFC 211.

That fight will be Miocic’s second defense of the UFC heavyweight title. He previously defended it against Alistair Overeem in the main event of UFC 203 in Cleveland last September.

The new deal will reach a number of countries, although it does not include Brazil as UFC has an existing deal in that country, nor Mexico, where UFC has worked with Televisa. However, FNG will become UFC’s home in Mexico in 2019.

The PPV events starting in August will air live on FOX Premium Action. The PPV prelims will air on both Fox Sports 2 and FOX Premium Action.

Fight Night shows will air live on Fox Sports 2.