Latest news with #TKOGroup
Reuters
6 minutes ago
- Business
- Reuters
Paramount to become exclusive US home for UFC in $7.7 billion streaming deal
Aug 11 (Reuters) - Skydance-owned Paramount will become the exclusive U.S. home of Ultimate Fighting Championship under a seven-year streaming deal valued at about $7.7 billion, the first major strategic move by the newly merged media giant under new CEO David Ellison. Starting next year, Paramount+ will carry the complete U.S. slate of 13 numbered UFC events and 30 Fight Nights. UFC, owned by TKO Group Holdings (TKO.N), opens new tab, will also have select numbered cards simulcast on Paramount's CBS broadcast network, the companies announced on Monday. The deal builds on Ellison's commitment to increase investment in high-quality exclusive content, which he had called the "single biggest driver of subscriber growth". Sports content, especially rights to live events, has become the cornerstone of media strategy, as cord-cutting accelerates, with rivals such as Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab and Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab also striking similar deals to strengthen their offerings. Netflix secured a $5 billion, 10-year global deal for WWE Raw from 2025 and added two NFL Christmas Day games. Disney's ESPN extended rights with NFL, NHL, MLB and College Football Playoff, and plans a joint sports streaming venture with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O), opens new tab and Fox. "The addition of UFC's year-round must-watch events to our platforms is a major win," Ellison said, calling UFC a "global sports powerhouse". The company will pay an average of $1.1 billion a year and include events at no extra cost to subscribers, shifting away from UFC's traditional pay-per-view model. It also said it may seek UFC rights in other markets as they come up for bidding. UFC stages about 43 live events a year, reaching roughly 100 million U.S. fans and nearly 950 million households globally. Its slate includes marquee numbered card events like UFC 300, weekly Fight Nights, and reality shows like "The Ultimate Fighter" and "Dana White's Contender Series". Paramount Global and Skydance Media completed their $8.4 billion merger last week and appointed Ellison as CEO, capping a drawn-out deal process marked by political scrutiny and shareholder concerns.
CNA
21 minutes ago
- Business
- CNA
Paramount to become exclusive US home for UFC in $7.7 billion streaming deal
Skydance-owned Paramount will become the exclusive U.S. home of Ultimate Fighting Championship under a seven-year streaming deal valued at about $7.7 billion, the first major strategic move by the newly merged media giant under new CEO David Ellison. Starting next year, Paramount+ will carry the complete U.S. slate of 13 numbered UFC events and 30 Fight Nights. UFC, owned by TKO Group Holdings, will also have select numbered cards simulcast on Paramount's CBS broadcast network, the companies announced on Monday. The deal builds on Ellison's commitment to increase investment in high-quality exclusive content, which he had called the "single biggest driver of subscriber growth". Sports content, especially rights to live events, has become the cornerstone of media strategy, as cord-cutting accelerates, with rivals such as Netflix and Disney also striking similar deals to strengthen their offerings. Netflix secured a $5 billion, 10-year global deal for WWE Raw from 2025 and added two NFL Christmas Day games. Disney's ESPN extended rights with NFL, NHL, MLB and College Football Playoff, and plans a joint sports streaming venture with Warner Bros Discovery and Fox. "The addition of UFC's year-round must-watch events to our platforms is a major win," Ellison said, calling UFC a "global sports powerhouse". The company will pay an average of $1.1 billion a year and include events at no extra cost to subscribers, shifting away from UFC's traditional pay-per-view model. It also said it may seek UFC rights in other markets as they come up for bidding. UFC stages about 43 live events a year, reaching roughly 100 million U.S. fans and nearly 950 million households globally. Its slate includes marquee numbered card events like UFC 300, weekly Fight Nights, and reality shows like "The Ultimate Fighter" and "Dana White's Contender Series".
National Post
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- National Post
Paramount will become the new home to all UFC events in U.S. under 7-year deal
Paramount will become the new home to all Ultimate Fighting Championship events in the U.S. under a seven-year agreement with TKO Group announced on Monday. Article content Under the deal, Paramount will exclusively distribute the UFC's full slate of its 13 marquee numbered events and 30 'Fight Nights' on its streaming platform Paramount+ — with select numbered events also set to simulcast on CBS — starting in 2026. Article content Article content Article content It's a shift away from the UFC's existing pay-per-view model, which Paramount and TKO say will allow the mixed martial arts programming reach more consumers nationwide. Article content 'Paramount's advantage lies in the expansive reach of our linear and streaming platforms,' David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, said in a statement. '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.' Article content Mark Shapiro, president and COO of TKO, added that the deal will mean 'deeper engagement for UFC's passionate fan base' and that its athletes 'will love this new stage.'
CBS News
an hour ago
- Business
- CBS News
Paramount acquires UFC rights in 7-year deal with TKO Group
Paramount will become the new home to all Ultimate Fighting Championship events in the U.S. under a seven-year agreement with TKO Group announced on Monday. Under the deal, Paramount will exclusively distribute the UFC's full slate of its 13 marquee numbered events and 30 "Fight Nights" on its streaming platform Paramount+ — with select numbered events also set to simulcast on CBS — starting in 2026. It's a shift away from the UFC's existing pay-per-view model, which Paramount and TKO say will allow the mixed martial arts programming reach more consumers nationwide. "Paramount's advantage lies in the expansive reach of our linear and streaming platforms," David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, said in a statement. "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." Mark Shapiro, president and COO of TKO, added that the deal will mean "deeper engagement for UFC's passionate fan base" and that its athletes "will love this new stage." The seven-year deal has an average annual value of $1.1 billion, the companies said Monday. Paramount, now owned by Skydance, also said it intends to explore UFC rights outside the U.S. "as they become available in the future." Shares of TKO — which, in addition to the UFC, also houses the WWE — rose 1.4% in premarket trading Monday. CBS News and Paramount+ are owned by Paramount Global.
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Paramount will become the new home to all UFC events in the US under 7-year deal with TKO Group
NEW YORK — Paramount will become the new home to all Ultimate Fighting Championship events in the U.S. under a seven-year agreement with TKO Group announced on Monday. Under the deal, Paramount will exclusively distribute the UFC's full slate of its 13 marquee numbered events and 30 'Fight Nights' on its streaming platform Paramount+ — with select numbered events also set to simulcast on CBS — starting in 2026.
