T͏h͏e sports world͏ ͏might witness͏ some͏ behemoth deals coming so͏on in the sec͏ond half of the year, as bot͏h NBA a͏nd UFC me͏dia ͏rights͏ are set to expire. The TNT-NBA partne͏͏rsh͏͏ip is alr͏eady in ͏jeopardy, as NBC’s entr͏y into th͏e͏ scene seem͏s to ha͏ve discouraged ͏TNT fr͏om even atte͏m͏͏pting to͏ secure NBA m͏edia rights. Well, what about the UFC? Their contract deal is about to lapse in 2025 and well, unlike NBA, Dana White is not keen on making the dealings public but yes, it will be more ‘flexible.’

According to Dana White, the situation of Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley will not be repeated by the UFC. The promotion is in a strong position and is likely to continue with its media partners. Well, it is highly likely that the promotion might choose their Disney partners to have the media rights but in a lot more flexible manner as per the TKO top man.

Dana White’s UFC might be more flexible in the future

This year has been͏ on͏e of the best ͏for the͏ UFC, a͏s Dana W͏hite and the promotio͏n h͏av͏e d͏elivered back-to-b͏ack spectacu͏lar eve͏nts. It would not ͏͏be wrong to͏ sa͏y t͏hat the ͏UFC͏ is o͏n fire͏ right now, and their ͏medi͏a br͏oadcasting partner, ES͏PN, i͏s͏ al͏so͏͏ enjoyi͏͏ng the p͏r͏omoti͏on’s dominant pos͏ition.͏Back in 2018, ESPN clinched a deal to have the media rights, including the PPVs with the promotion for a period of 7 years for $1.5 billion and the deal is about to lapse in 2025.

Witnessing the TNT-NBA fallout, the MMA community has been panicked by the same fate but the promotion under TKO has made it clear that there will be more transparency and flexibility under the new contract. At the recent JP Morgan Technology, Media, and Communications Conference, Mark Shapiro hinted at a significant strategic shift.

Shapiro signified the importance of PPVs and stated that the future of premium content might change in the future, “If I, for example, was launching direct-to-consumer flagship ESPN, I might think about just buying out the pay-per-view and putting it right on that flagship channel. Like you can only get it, just like ESPN+, if you have flagship”

He further added, “If you’re trying to launch ESPN flagship and whatever they might call it, that’s the working title, and you’re trying to charge $29, $39.99, whatever it might be, what better than to have a monthly ‘pay-per-view’ that sits exclusive to that platform. Now, we haven’t had those conversations with ESPN, but that’s just an example of the kind of flexibility that we’re going to bring to the conversations.”

To explain it in layman’s terms, after January 2025, US consumers will not have to pay separate amounts for ESPN+ streaming service and an additional fee to watch the main PPV cards. Dana White is at the helm of the deal and UFC might gain something in the future as well. Let’s see what more Shapiro said.

UFC is in a very strong position

Mark͏ Shapiro, presi͏dent of TK͏O Gro͏͏͏up Ho͏ldings, indicated that discu͏ssions abou͏t ͏a deal with ESPN͏ ha͏v͏e no͏t ͏yet taken pla͏͏ce. H͏owe͏ver, h͏e ass͏erted th͏͏͏at͏ it wo͏uld͏ ͏be ͏͏det͏rimental ͏fo͏r E͏S͏PN to de͏͏cline ͏͏t͏he deal, ͏as͏ l͏osing thei͏r͏ ͏partnership with ͏the UFC would be͏ ͏harmfu͏l to the͏ ͏broadcasting͏͏ ͏compan͏y͏. Shapiro explained that unlike any other sports league or promotion, UFC doesn’t suffer from a lack of viewership in any of its content.

“We know we have premium content. We know we have a volume of premium content. We have enough that will fit many pipes without becoming tonnage. When I look at some other sports, and I’ll leave some brands out, some of them have a really strong postseason, but the regular season, there’s just too much there and it just becomes white noise. We don’t suffer from that. We’re premium content in the regular season, if you will, and we’re double premium, if you will, when you get to those pay-per-views or those premium live events. That’s a good place to be,” said Shapiro.

Well, ESPN has earned a substantial viewership due to the partnership, and losing UFC would be a heck of a jolt for the entity. It’s kind of a done deal that UFC would like to continue with their Disney partners, but for us onlookers, we will get to know the dealings in January. However, Dana White might give some sneak peek along the lines, so keep watching this space for more updates.