Will The UFC End Up On Netflix?

January 23, 2025
4 weeks

Ted Sarandos, who is the CEO of Netflix, has ignored the continued speculation linking the streaming platform with the UFC. 

The UFC is currently with ESPN, which is a deal they signed in 2018. Reports indicate it is worth $1.5 billion, allowing ESPN to showcase the UFC’s fights. But ESPN has three months from this January to come to a new deal in an exclusive negotiation period. Otherwise, the UFC will be free to talk with others. There are suggestions the UFC is looking for a deal worth $1 billion a year. This would require ESPN to increase their numbers exponentially. Netflix has been linked with the UFC for several reasons. They have a deal with WWE, who merged with the UFC to form TKO Group Holdings Inc.

Under the deal, Netflix pays $5 billion to broadcast Monday Night Raw for ten years. Netflix is capable of holding mega-events. Despite the criticism over Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, it broke records. The fight became the most-viewed live-streamed boxing bout ever. There was so much demand that customers experienced buffering issues.

Netflix has also shown an increase in subscribers, which could also happen by adding the UFC. Dana White has also said the UFC may get a deal that works across multiple platforms, giving Netflix a chance to add their name to the list. But Sarandos refused to entertain any speculation. His focus was on delivering the best for WWE, as he praised the brand. 

Sarandos Reacts

“Not going to comment anything specifically like the UFC but WWE is off to a great start. The first week we drew about 5 million views, which is about two times the audience that Monday Night Raw was getting in linear television. Pretty consistent with how we modeled it, how we’d hope to build the audience for the league.

“We also saw that the non-live viewings and the day after the live event, our viewing grew by 25 percent, mostly outside of the U.S. time zones. “So this is new viewing in the U.K. and Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil in particular are really big markets. So we’re really thrilled to see how that’s going so far. In the U.S., our viewing of Monday Night Raw was as big as the Monday Night Raw viewing has been in five years. So we’re super thrilled with how that’s going and how that’s coming out,” Sarandos said 

It is a decision the UFC must weigh up. They could use the three-month window period to put pressure on ESPN to get a better deal, knowing they can use their leverage of being able to speak to others. However, a multi-platform deal arguably increases their brand on a global scale. The Saudis have shown they were willing to work with many networks to stage the biggest fights in boxing. The UFC could benefit from that model, too since they have a good working relationship with The Kingdom. The future looks promising for the biggest MMA brand. 

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