The Big Lead

UFC eyes '$1 billion a year' payday as media rights come up for renewal in 2025

Big fights are big business, and the UFC could be set to cash in with a multi-billion-dollar sports media rights deal.

By Simon Head

Mar 25, 2023; San Antonio, Texas, USA; UFC president Dana White at a press conference after UFC Fight Night at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Meullion-Imagn Images
Mar 25, 2023; San Antonio, Texas, USA; UFC president Dana White at a press conference after UFC Fight Night at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Meullion-Imagn Images / Aaron Meullion-Imagn Images
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The UFC could be the latest sports league to benefit from the explosion in sports media rights, with the world's leading MMA organization's media rights deal set to expire at the end of the year.

A report by Bloomberg states that, per people with knowledge of the matter, the UFC is "looking to get more than $1 billion a year" for its next media rights deal. That would dwarf the five-year, $1.5 billion deal struck with ESPN for their current rights package.

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Per a statement emailed to Bloomberg by the UFC's parent company, TKO Group Holdings, the UFC are currently in "an exclusive negotiating window with ESPN through mid-April 2025, and look forward to productive negotiations when the time comes."

After that point, things could get very interesting.

TKO have already inked a $5 billion, 10-year deal with Netflix for the exclusive rights to WWE's flagship Monday night show, Raw, with the deal getting underway on January 6.

The streaming giant could well be an interested participant in the UFC's media rights sweepstakes, particularly following the success of their broadcasts of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, and the NFL's slate of Christmas Day games.

Other potentially interested parties could include Amazon Prime and Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as the traditional linear sports broadcasting giants, including current rightsholders ESPN.

TKO and the UFC may also explore the option of chopping up their rights into smaller package deals – similar to the way the NFL breaks up its media rights – in a bid to broaden their reach and maximize revenue across multiple platforms, which may open the door for multiple rightsholders to claim a slice of the UFC cake.

Whichever way things go, one thing seems clear. With the sports media rights landscape looking more lucrative than ever, the UFC looks set for a big payday.

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