UFC's ESPN+ Deal

[Jasen777]

How the UFC’s deal with ESPN changes the company’s business

So this got buried in the other thread but I think this is thread worthy. $150 for 15 events a year, to be put on ESPN's streaming service (which costs $4.99 a month). It'll be interesting to see where the rest of their events go.

So that's $10 million an event, and this article says that a UFC PPV event would have to get 285,000 buys to match that (which doesn't seem like a lot but many PPVs don't get that many). Presumably this means the UFC will put out less subpar PPVs? It also shows again that collectively the rank and file fighters do have a lot of worth to the UFC...

[Jasen777]

Well this article says the UFC is going to have 12 PPVs and 15 other events and addition to the 15 sold to ESPN+.

[Jasen777]

ESPN outbid Fox for the rest of the UFC TV content.

ESPN to broadcast 30 UFC events per year during 5-year deal

$1.5 billion over 5 years. 10 events on ESPN, 20 events on ESPN+ (12 fights each). ESPN also will air PPV prelims (12 expected PPV events).

[Bernman]

Part of me thought Disney would never embrace MMA enough to put it on tv. But I think they were desensitizing people by showing highlights w/ analysis on Sportscenter. This laid the foundation.

Always thought this would be a gamechanger in terms of bringing it to the mainstream, as much as fighting could be. But also providing an actual competitor for the UFC if they ever could have worked out a deal. This effectively undercuts them as WSOF, LFA, and the buyouts had done already. More entrenches the UFC virtual monopoly.

In that way this deal is a real boon to the UFC as well as the sheer #'s and reliability over second-level ppv's. Now just have to avoid lawsuits and unionization to justify the monstrous purchase price for IMG-WME.

From a consumer standpoint it's a slam dunk. $5 per month when FP was charging twice that, didn't carry nearly as high quality of events as this will, let alone accompanying sports. Pays to get in here as an innovator, because eventually they'll inevitably jack up the price. But it still would be cost-effective.

Cut the cord! Netflix, ESPN+ and maybe Fox too, YouTube for news/interviews/entertainment shows should pretty much cover you for content, while serving you better in the area, for much less.

[Jasen777]

Cut the cord! Netflix, ESPN+ and maybe Fox too, YouTube for news/interviews/entertainment shows should pretty much cover you for content, while serving you better in the area, for much less.

I would love to cut the cord (and might anyways if it was only up to me) but there's only one high speed ISP here and it's the cable company and of course they charge almost as much for internet as the do for internet + TV.

[GoRapstheoriginal]

Cut the cord! Netflix, ESPN+ and maybe Fox too, YouTube for news/interviews/entertainment shows should pretty much cover you for content, while serving you better in the area, for much less.

I would love to cut the cord (and might anyways if it was only up to me) but there's only one high speed ISP here and it's the cable company and of course they charge almost as much for internet as the do for internet + TV.

/deadpans: Move! (I kid!) Lolz! ! ! !

[Bernman]

I would love to cut the cord (and might anyways if it was only up to me) but there's only one high speed ISP here and it's the cable company and of course they charge almost as much for internet as the do for internet + TV.

The Fed > OPEC > Media Monopoly. There's a push for public broadband because of the net neutrality repeal. It's being appealed and passed the senate, but it won't make it thru the house, let alone president. So even locales that don't have the cable monopoly it would behoove them to make broadband a public utility, let alone the ones who do. You'd have double the motive. Then you could cut the cord with an internet bill on the cheap my friend.

[onlyAlex]

Presumably this means the UFC will put out less subpar PPVs? It also shows again that collectively the rank and file fighters do have a lot of worth to the UFC.

[Jasen777]

Presumably this means the UFC will put out less subpar PPVs?

They're still doing 12 PPVs a year, so that's not likely...

[Jasen777]

The UFC's Must-See Moves
The world's best MMA action is coming to ESPN.
These are the moves you need to know, as selected by our team of fighting experts.

Interactive.

[REDDzone]

Being a UFC fan is expensive, man. A PPV per month at what? $65 dollars? Then Fightpass which is $10/month. Then ESPN+ which is $5/ month. Finally, a cable or internet package including ESPN which probably ranges from $25 to $100+.

[Bernman]

Being a UFC fan is expensive, man. A PPV per month at what? $65 dollars? Then Fightpass which is $10/month. Then ESPN+ which is $5/ month. Finally, a cable or internet package including ESPN which probably ranges from $25 to $100+.

Not to mention $10 for DAZN if you want to watch Bellators. Less people would just end up streaming it illegally if they didn't make this stuff so costly. I don't know if DAZN would be worth it regardless, but if UFC packaged all of their live content together and offered it online for a couple hundred bucks per yr, a lot more people would be content enough to pay it.

[REDDzone]

Someone said anyone outside of the U.S. (or in the U.S. with a VPN, allegedly) can just watch all these upcoming ESPN+ events on Fight Pass. That's a great deal for them IMO because FightPass has good content already and I'm guessing the number of and quality of events/fights will be increasing now that they are shifting to ESPN+.

[JazzUte88]

I miss the Fox Sports deal. ESPN+ isn't expensive, but it's not TV.

[Jasen777]

ESPN+ to be exclusive home of UFC PPV events

I assume they still cost $60 or whatever?

[Jasen777]

More information on MMAFIghting

Beginning next month with UFC 236, the only way to purchase a UFC pay-per-view card at home in the United States will be through ESPN+, it was announced Monday. Only subscribers to ESPN+ will be able to buy UFC PPV cards, at a reduced rate of $59.99 per event, the press release said.

...

The cost of the service is $4.99 per month of $49.99 per year. About 10 more events per year will air on ESPN’s cable channels with prelims airing on .

Another 12 are UFC pay-per-view events, which will now air exclusively — for purchase — on . Prior to the change, UFC PPV events were available through U.S. cable and satellite operators, like Comcast and DirecTV, as well as UFC.tv and Amazon.

With the new deal, will offer a bundle option, offering new subscribers 12 months of the digital sports streaming service with one UFC PPV event included for $79.99 ($30 more than the usual yearly price for ).

So this is good for ESPN and bad for cable/satellite companies, but I'm not sure it's good for the UFC (ESPN+ has 2 million subscribers and even if that goes way up it's limiting the number of potential PPV buyers). And I guess it's bad for customers that now have to pay for ESPN+ just so they can pay for PPVs...

[REDDzone]

I haven't read beyond what you posted in this thread, but scraping for possible positives here: does this give the UFC more flexibility? Just wondering, because we always heard in the past that they wouldn't or couldn't cancel or discount PPVs that fall apart because they don't want to piss off their PPV partners. So now if Whitaker falls out at the last minute, would they be able to move it to a free card or discount it? Not positive if they would even want to I guess, but wondering if that's now possible.

One unknown is how does this affect commercial airing of these events. I consume every PPV at the bar with some buddies from the gym. Is BWW/Hooters, etc. going to stream this from ESPN+? I have no idea. I'm not sure what I'm going to do if not though, buying a $60 PPV every month is just not going to happen for me.

[High 5]

I haven't read beyond what you posted in this thread, but scraping for possible positives here: does this give the UFC more flexibility? Just wondering, because we always heard in the past that they wouldn't or couldn't cancel or discount PPVs that fall apart because they don't want to piss off their PPV partners. So now if Whitaker falls out at the last minute, would they be able to move it to a free card or discount it? Not positive if they would even want to I guess, but wondering if that's now possible.

One unknown is how does this affect commercial airing of these events. I consume every PPV at the bar with some buddies from the gym. Is BWW/Hooters, etc. going to stream this from ESPN+? I have no idea. I'm not sure what I'm going to do if not though, buying a $60 PPV every month is just not going to happen for me.

I read that those places will still purchase PPVs the same way.

This deal seems bad for most fans, but I haven't spent money on the UFC in years so

[REDDzone]

^ Huh. MMAfighting article has the following quote: "UFC will still sell its PPV events to commercial establishments like bars and restaurants."

I guess that means the same way? That's a weird sentence. Sell them how?

[REDDzone]

Dana intervie was so cringy (paraphrase): Let me tell you, the winner here is the fans. This deal is INCREDIBLE for the fans. Absolutely INCREDIBLE.

He literally just kept repeating the word "incredible" 7 times without once explaining how this was in any way good for the fans.