Paramount Buys Ufc Rights For $7.7 Billion, Ending Ppv Events

Paramount conscionable acquired nan US authorities to UFC for 7 years successful a woody worthy $7.7 cardinal dollars, according to reporting by NBC News. This statement begins successful 2026 and covers nan organization's afloat slate of 13 marquee bouts and 30 Fight Night events per year. All matches and events will watercourse successful nan US connected Paramount+ and prime fights will simulcast connected CBS.

This ends nan pay-per-view (PPV) exemplary that ESPN+ has favored for premium UFC events. "What’s connected pay-per-view anymore? Boxing? Movies connected DirecTV? It’s an outdated, antiquated model," said Mark Shapiro, president of UFC's genitor institution TKO Group. Matches return spot passim nan year, which isn't existent of different sports. This should support nan UFC's monolithic fanbase tethered to that Paramount+ subscription.

This happened conscionable a fewer days aft Skydance Media officially acquired Paramount and its subsidiaries for $8 billion. It's reasonably chaotic that Skydance paid $8 cardinal to ain Paramount and its various IPs successful perpetuity and $7.7 cardinal to aerial UFC fights successful 1 state for 7 years.

“UFC is simply a unicorn plus that comes up astir erstwhile a decade,” said TKO Group CEO David Ellison. Paramount is besides willing successful purchasing nan world authorities to aerial UFC matches and it's being fixed an exclusive speech model pinch each state to do conscionable that.

It's been reported that Paramount apt placated Trump successful respective ways to guarantee nan FCC approved nan acquisition. The institution coughed up $16 million to settee a "frivolous and dangerous" suit pinch Trump aft 60 Minutes interviewed Kamala Harris and trim an reply for time, which is thing televised interviews person ever done. Paramount will allocate that money to Trump's early statesmanlike room and did not supply a "statement of apology aliases regret."

CBS, which is owned by Paramount, besides canceled The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which was seen by galore arsenic a move to pacify Trump. The president denies this, saying nan cancellation was due to a "pure deficiency of talent."

Paramount has promised to extremity each US-based Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and to hire a bias monitor for CBS News to make judge that blimpish voices aren't drowned retired by nan changeless drumbeat of reality. Trump has besides publically stated that CBS will beryllium giving him $20 cardinal worthy of airtime for nationalist work announcements accordant pinch his ideological beliefs.