Paramount Skydance, TKO climb on a $7.7 billion UFC rights deal
Less than a week after Skydance closed its deal to buy Parmount, Paramount Skydance has struck a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal for the US streaming and broadcast rights for UFC.
Shares of Paramount Skydance and UFC owner TKO are up in premarket trading.
The deal pins UFC rights at about double the value of the organization’s previous broadcast deal with Disney’s ESPN (about $550 million per year vs. $1.1 billion per year). It also shifts UFC out of its pay-per-view model, with matches streaming on Paramount+ and occasionally CBS.
It’s the second major streaming deal for a TKO property this month, following last week’s reported team-up between WWE and ESPN for $1.6 billion (80% above what Peacock had been paying in the previous deal).
The deal pins UFC rights at about double the value of the organization’s previous broadcast deal with Disney’s ESPN (about $550 million per year vs. $1.1 billion per year). It also shifts UFC out of its pay-per-view model, with matches streaming on Paramount+ and occasionally CBS.
It’s the second major streaming deal for a TKO property this month, following last week’s reported team-up between WWE and ESPN for $1.6 billion (80% above what Peacock had been paying in the previous deal).
