While there aren’t many significant sports media rights packages available in the near future, the UFC stands out as one of the few. With the MMA giant’s exclusive negotiating window with ESPN set to expire on Tuesday, all signs point to the TKO property bringing its offerings to the open market. This isn’t surprising given the expected interest in UFC, which ESPN seems unconcerned about. ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro commented to Sports Business Journal, advising people not to “read too much into” the expiration of the exclusive negotiating window without an agreement.
“We’re not hyper-focused on that window,” Pitaro remarked. “We know there will be interest in the UFC, and that’s great for the sport and for them. However, we are still interested in finding a way to work together.” According to SBJ, UFC is aiming for over $1 billion annually for its next deal, a notable increase from the current five-year, $1.5 billion contract with ESPN that ends this year. Under this agreement, ESPN+ has been the exclusive host of UFC’s monthly pay-per-view events, making it a signature property of the streaming service.
“UFC has been really good to ESPN,” Pitaro told SBJ. “We launched ESPN+ in April 2018, and the UFC was our marquee property at that time. Fast forward to now, and it continues to be our standout offering. We believe we’ve been excellent partners to the UFC through our promotion and commitment to mixed martial arts and specifically to the UFC across our studio programming and the ESPN app.” As he indicated, a continued partnership between ESPN and UFC would undoubtedly benefit both parties.
For ESPN, keeping appealing streaming properties is crucial, particularly with its direct-to-consumer “Flagship” service poised to launch later this year. Conversely, UFC has gained substantial advantages from the promotional support received on ESPN programming in recent years, despite facing some technical difficulties.
The major consideration is Netflix, which is ramping up its entry into live rights and has an existing connection with TKO through its deal with WWE. Moreover, it’s notable that TNT Sports has emerged as a potential bidder. In summary, UFC will likely have ample leverage as it heads into the open market next week.
