Fresh off the completion of its $8 purchase by Skydance last week and the so-called new Paramount is set to be the exclusive U.S. home of UFC under a seven-year media rights deal with TKO Group Holdings, valued at $7.7 billion.
Under the deal, announced Monday, starting in 2026 Paramount will exclusively distribute all of UFC’s 13 marquee numbered events and 30 Fight Nights via Paramount+. Select numbered events will also be simulcast on Paramount’s CBS broadcast network. In addition, Paramount plans to explore scooping up UFC rights outside of the U.S. as they become available down the line.
Paramount's agreement for rights to distribute live UFC events is valued annually on average at $1.1 billion. Per the WSJ, that’s a significant increase for TKO over its current agreement for UFC with Disney’s ESPN, which the publication said was valued at $550 million annually.
UFC noted that as part of the deal, the mixed martial arts league and Paramount are moving away from UFC’s existing Pay-Per-View model seen on ESPN in favor of attracting a broader audience by making them available at no extra cost to Paramount+ subscribers.
UFC said the change in distribution strategy “will unlock greater accessibility and discoverability for sports fans” while providing a boost for engagement and subscriber growth on Paramount+. It removes UFC events from behind a steeper PPV paywall, as the streaming service costs $7.99 per month with ads in the U.S. ( or $12.99 per month for ad-free with Showtime). Paramount's flagship SVOD ended Q2 with 77.7 million global subscribers.
The deal marks a major content announcement for Skydance’s Paramount, and new Chairman and CEO David Ellison on Monday emphasized live sports as a foundation of the company’s larger strategy.
“Paramount’s advantage lies in the expansive reach of our linear and streaming platforms. Live sports continue to be a cornerstone of our broader strategy — driving engagement, subscriber growth, and long-term loyalty, and the addition of UFC’s year-round must-watch events to our platforms is a major win,” stated Ellison. “We look forward to delivering this premium content to millions of fans in the U.S., and potentially beyond.”
UFC, meanwhile, has approximately 43 live events annually, with the MMA league delivers more than 350 hours of live event content and counting a roster of approximately 600 athletes representing 75 countries. Per the press release, in the U.S. UFC has about 100million fans engaged across linear, digital and social platforms.
As for the cost of the seven-year deal, UFC said the contract’s payment schedule is weighted more toward the back end of the term.
“This is a milestone moment and landmark deal for UFC, solidifying its position as a preeminent global sports asset,” said Ariel Emanuel, executive chair and CEO of TKO in a statement. “Our decade-long journey with UFC has been defined by continuous growth and expansion, and this agreement is an important realization of our strategy. We believe wholeheartedly in David’s vision and look forward to being in business with a company that will prioritize technology as a means to enhance storytelling and the overall viewing experience.”
LightShed sees benefit for UFC
Not everyone was surprised by the deal.
Analysts at LightShed Partners in a Monday post said that the firm expected Paramount’s Ellison to go for UFC, particularly after the new CEO shared his vision statement last week that expressed expectations for Paramount to “invest far more heavily in sports” across Paramount+ and CBS and hinted a UFC deal could be coming.
That said, the firm doesn’t necessarily see Paramount+ as the ideal partner for UFC, instead hoping Netflix would come out on top, but noted the SVOD giant wasn’t likely to win in a bidding war.
“The problem with Netflix is UFC is nice to have content, not must have, whereas for the new Paramount, they need high profile content to take Paramount+ to a new level,” wrote LightShed analysts led by Richard Greenfield.
Still, the firm was positive on the deal for UFC, noting it achieves all three of TKO’s goals including more money, wider distribution “and meaningful cross promotion spanning broadcast and digital distribution.”
LightShed also emphasized the key factor of UFC numbered fights moving in front of a paywall and exposing more people to the league’s best content.
“Importantly, we also expect that most numbered fights will be simulcast on CBS broadcast dramatically widening the reach and exposure of UFC content,” wrote the analysts, adding they anticipate heavy cross-promotion from CBS during sports and new entertainment content on Paramount+.
And LightShed called out the UFC deal as new Paramount’s second “bold content move” in a week, but said whether it’s a standalone accretive investment remains to be seen. What they do signal to the firm, per Greenfield, is just how long-term and big Ellison and team are thinking.
“They are not playing for near-term earnings outperformance, they are trying to create a long-term imprint on the future of the media industry to ‘win’,” wrote LightShed.