In the wake of ESPN making major moves in the sports broadcasting world, its parent company, Disney, released its third quarter earnings report. And the report indicates concerns regarding UFC pay-per-views.
The report’s sports category indicated a one percent increase in domestic revenue for ESPN in the 2024-25 fiscal year, as well as a -7% change in operating income (loss). As it pertains to the increase in revenue, one of the points noted to cause such is listed as “lower Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view fees due to lower average buys per event.”
In layman’s terms, as noted by Robert Joyner, ESPN has paid the UFC less over the past year due to pay-per-view numbers decreasing.
This is particularly noteworthy, as the UFC’s U.S. broadcasting rights deal with ESPN, which was signed in May 2018 and began in January 2019, is set to expire at the end of the year. Previous reports have stated the UFC is looking for a $1 billion broadcasting agreement.
Netflix, who has a connection with the UFC’s parent company, TKO — thanks to its broadcasting agreement with the WWE that started earlier this year — has been a name brought up in potential suitors. Given this news, it is noted that many have speculated whether or not a UFC deal with Netflix would have a pay-per-view paywall element to it for those numbered cards.
UFC PPV Numbers Reportedly On Continued Noteworthy Decrease
It is also not the first time that a report concerning UFC pay-per-view numbers like this has come out this year. Back in March, the New York Post reported that ESPN and UFC relationship had turned sour. The UFC was reportedly unhappy with the broadcast technology used by ESPN, especially in the wake of a particularly troubling UFC 313 broadcast, while ESPN was dissatisfied with a significant decrease in pay-per-view purchases since the deal began.
A Yahoo report from May indicated that month’s UFC 315 was trending to be one of the lowest, if not the lowest, bought pay-per-view in UFC history.
Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, however, reported in early June that the UFC’s talks with ESPN were the “furthest along” amongst all potential broadcasters.
As Joyner posted on social media, a mostly agreed-upon issue amongst the online MMA community is that the UFC is struggling with star power.
When looking at some of the UFC’s biggest needle movers, it’s noted that Conor McGregor has not fought for the promotion since UFC 264 in July 2021. Furthermore, Jon Jones had a three-year break from MMA before competing just once in 2023 and 2024 before his two-week retirement this year. Other names from some of the UFC’s most-bought pay-per-views, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Nate Diaz, Ronda Rousey, and Jorge Masvidal are no longer under UFC contract, if not retired from MMA completely. It’s believed the UFC’s recent attempts of making new stars is not working.
Fans and pundits, on a related note, have also criticized the UFC for an oversaturation of the market with the number of cards it runs per year. While some bigger pay-per-view cards might be filled with notable names, other cards, whether pay-per-view or Fight Night, may not be.
This is a trend that has followed the UFC since the early days of its U.S. broadcasting deal with Fox during the 2010s. It was, however, reported in 2020 that ESPN expected 42 events from the promotion in order for the UFC to not risk a guaranteed payout (which, on a side note, is reportedly why UFC pushed heavily for events go on even in the earliest portions of the COVID-19 pandemic).
ESPN’s broadcasting deal with rival promotion PFL, meanwhile, is set to expire after 2026.
This Disney Earnings Report’s release also comes mere hours after ESPN agreed to a five-year deal with WWE, worth $325 million per year, to air WWE’s Premium Live Events (PLEs) in the U.S. This deal is expected to go in effect with WrestleMania 42 this coming April, following the conclusion of WWE’s current PLE U.S. broadcasting deal with Peacock, which began in 2021.
Just days ago, it was confirmed that ESPN would also be acquiring a number of assets from the National Football League (NFL), including its NFL Network and NFL RedZone channels, in exchange for a 10 percent stake in ESPN.
ESPN is set to replace the current ESPN+ streaming service with a new direct-to-consumer streaming service, also called ESPN, on Thursday, August 21. The new app will cost $29.99 per month.