ESPN Officially Announces Deal For UFC TV Rights, FOX Sports Comments on Deal

ESPN has officially announced that they have completed a deal for the TV rights for UFC MMA broadcasts. The deal starts on January 1st, 2019 and runs for five years according to the press release that announced the news. This makes ESPN the exclusive digital and television home of the UFC thanks to the recently-announced five-year deal bringing the UFC’s streaming rights for ESPN+. Each deal is reportedly worth $750 million.

“ESPN’s unparalleled multimedia platform is the perfect home for the UFC and will deliver tremendous value to both parties,” ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro said. “UFC fans are passionate and loyal, and we plan to bring the full power of ESPN’s live coverage, powerful storytelling and unmatched distribution to serve them in an unprecedented fashion. We can’t wait to get started.”

The broadcast deal will include ten full UFC cards a year between ESPN and ESPN 2 along with prelims for twelve UFC PPVs. Twenty additional shows will stream on ESPN+. Other content such as Dana White’s Contender Series and a new all-access series are included per MMAjunkie.

FOX Sports, who retain television rights for UFC broadcasts until the end of the year, said in a statement, “FOX Sports has enjoyed an amazing partnership with the UFC over the last seven years. As FOX Sports was planning the launch of FS1, Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta were the first partners to believe in the idea and vision of the new network. We look forward to finishing out 2018 with more exciting live events and wish the UFC continued success in the years to come.”