UPDATE: The New York Post’s Erich Richter has confirmed that Dana White’s Contender Series, The Ultimate Fighter, and Road to UFC are all not part of the UFC-Paramount package, and that the UFC is still shopping homes for these platforms.
The major seven-year, $7.7 billion U.S. broadcasting deal between the UFC and Paramount may not include Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS), the UFC CEO and President confirmed to Sports Business Journal.
One of the notable things to come out of the new UFC deal was what the press release to announce it did not make mention of UFC properties outside of the events that include the likes of DWCS, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), Road to UFC, etc.
White confirmed an interview that while the UFC and all of its numbered and Fight Night events are part of the Paramount package, which begins in January, the U.S. rights to air DWCS are still to be determined.
“Yeah. That could be split up,” White said. “We’ll see how that plays out.”
UFC Properties May Be Split Up After All, As DWCS Not Part Of UFC-Paramount Deal
While the interview did not mention TUF or Road to UFC, it may be assumed that those rights are also still up in the air.
TUF was created by the UFC when it first partnered up with Paramount Network (then known as Spike) in 2005, the same year it started airing Fight Night events on the cable channel. TUF has since followed the UFC throughout its times with FOX and ESPN as well.
Road to UFC has aired exclusively on UFC Fight Pass since its inception and may likely remain there.
DWCS first premiered on UFC Fight Pass in 2017 before moving over to ESPN+ as part of the UFC’s deal with ESPN that began in 2019. The UFC’s U.S. broadcasting rights with ESPN ends at the end of the year. DWCS not being part of the Paramount deal keeps the possibility that ESPN could have some piece of the UFC umbrella.
White added that he doesn’t see ESPN shying away from UFC coverage after the deal.
“When we first started out over there, you’re going to have some rockiness when you’re figuring how you’re going to work with each other and who’s who, what’s what, and, ‘How are we going to do this?’ and we had some of that with ESPN,” White said. “Let me tell you what, over the last seven years, we have created an unbelievable relationship with that company and the people that work there.
“I don’t see [ESPN promoting UFC less after 2025] happening. I see the exact opposite of that happening. We wouldn’t be where we are today without ESPN and I plan on continuing that relationship for the rest of my career.”
This deal between the UFC and Paramount calls for 43 UFC cards, featuring 13 numbered events and 30 Fight Night cards, to be broadcasted on Paramount+. A select number of the numbered events (White has said four, while TKO executives Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro claim all) will air on the lineal CBS network in the U.S.
When current international broadcasting deals for the UFC expire, Paramount will also have a 30-day exclusive negotiating window to lock up rights in those countries as well.
