Paramount Pays $7.7bn For Exclusive Us Rights Deal With Ufc

Paramount has struck a $7.7bn (£5.7bn) woody to go nan exclusive US broadcaster of nan Ultimate Fighting Championship, conscionable days aft its arguable merger pinch Skydance Media.

Under nan seven-year woody pinch nan sports group’s genitor company, TKO Group, each 13 of UFC’s marquee numbered events and 30 Fight Nights a twelvemonth will beryllium streamed connected nan Paramount+ service, pinch a selected number besides simulcast connected CBS, from adjacent year.

The statement will mean nan extremity of UFC’s existent pay-per-view exemplary connected nan Disney-owned ESPN+ service.

The woody comes a week aft David Ellison took complete arsenic chair and main executive pursuing Skydance’s $8.4bn takeover of nan Hollywood studio and broadcasting business, pinch nan media institution saying it whitethorn prosecute UFC authorities successful different markets arsenic they travel up for renewal.

“Live sports proceed to beryllium a cornerstone of our broader strategy,” said Ellison. “[It drives] engagement, subscriber maturation and semipermanent loyalty. The summation of UFC’s year-round must-watch events to our platforms is simply a awesome win.”

Paramount is paying $1.1bn connected mean annually to TKO Group for nan authorities and will connection each nan matches astatine nary further costs to consumers.

Mark Shapiro, president and main operating serviceman astatine TKO, said: “Paramount is simply a platinum partner pinch important reach. Our caller statement unlocks powerful opportunities astatine TKO for years to come.”

UFC is led by Dana White, an state of President Donald Trump who said astatine his triumph rally successful Washington DC successful January. He is besides a committee personnel of Meta, nan proprietor of Facebook and Instagram.

Ellison, nan 42-year-old boy of nan multibillionaire co-founder of Oracle, Larry Ellison, is moving pinch Paramount’s different co-owner, RedBird Capital, to trim $2bn successful costs from nan business.

RedBird, which is tally by Gerry Cardinale, is besides successful nan process of pushing done a £500m takeover of nan Telegraph.

The authorities woody follows completion of nan prolonged merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media, a process which drew regulatory and governmental scrutiny and raised concerns among immoderate investors.

Last period Paramount Global agreed to salary $16m to settee a ineligible conflict pinch Trump complete what nan president claimed was misleading editing of a pre-election question and reply connected its CBS News web pinch nan Democratic campaigner Kamala Harris.

While CBS initially called nan suit “completely without merit”, its genitor institution decided to settle.

CBS besides cancelled The Late Show pinch Stephen Colbert days aft nan eponymous big said nan colony by nan network’s genitor institution was a “bribe”.

Paramount owns assets including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Showtime and Channel 5 successful nan UK. The movie workplace has produced Hollywood blockbusters including Top Gun: Maverick, arsenic good arsenic nan Mission: Impossible and Star Trek franchises.