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According to SBJ, WME were in Viacom offices meeting with Viacom CEO Bob Bakish about Viacom getting UFC TV rights when ESPN agreed to take the whole deal.
The fight to get the deals done
The two Endeavor executives had dismissed the idea of ESPN picking up a more significant package, especially given how busy its schedule is in the fall with college football commitments. But they wanted to give ESPN a shot to take it all, and they wanted to use that Iger meeting to float the idea.
The group, which included Mayer, bantered for 45 minutes, trading industry gossip. Eventually Emanuel broached the topic, telling Iger and Mayer that he wanted to open the door on the second half of the package.
“Why wouldn’t you want to just control the whole thing and not have to fight with other networks about which fight you’d get,” he asked.
“Because you want an arm and a leg for it,” Mayer responded. “It’s too expensive.”
“You can have it for $150 million per year — the same amount you paid for the first half of the package,” Emanuel said.
That’s when Iger piped in. “Give me three days to run the numbers. I’ll get back to you.”
Three days later, Emanuel and Shapiro were in Viacom’s New York offices pitching CEO Bob Bakish on UFC rights. But Emanuel’s attention was focused on his phone, which had just buzzed.
It was Mayer. He texted Emanuel through the WhatsApp app to say that ESPN wanted to secure all the UFC’s media rights for a total payout of $300 million per year. He was on Disney’s corporate jet at the time, flying cross country to get to New York for ESPN’s upfront presentation the next day.
Emanuel and Shapiro continued with their meeting at Viacom, spending the next 45 minutes walking Bakish through UFC’s offerings.
At the end of the meeting, the two Endeavor executives jumped into a car and continued to text Mayer. They were trying to figure out how many fights in the second package could go onto ESPN+ and how many needed to be on ESPN.
By the time Emanuel and Shapiro got to their office, most of the outstanding issues had been resolved via text, with Magnus helping by phone from Bristol.
Mayer texted Emanuel: “Done. You have a deal.”
The fight to get the deals done
The two Endeavor executives had dismissed the idea of ESPN picking up a more significant package, especially given how busy its schedule is in the fall with college football commitments. But they wanted to give ESPN a shot to take it all, and they wanted to use that Iger meeting to float the idea.
The group, which included Mayer, bantered for 45 minutes, trading industry gossip. Eventually Emanuel broached the topic, telling Iger and Mayer that he wanted to open the door on the second half of the package.
“Why wouldn’t you want to just control the whole thing and not have to fight with other networks about which fight you’d get,” he asked.
“Because you want an arm and a leg for it,” Mayer responded. “It’s too expensive.”
“You can have it for $150 million per year — the same amount you paid for the first half of the package,” Emanuel said.
That’s when Iger piped in. “Give me three days to run the numbers. I’ll get back to you.”
Three days later, Emanuel and Shapiro were in Viacom’s New York offices pitching CEO Bob Bakish on UFC rights. But Emanuel’s attention was focused on his phone, which had just buzzed.
It was Mayer. He texted Emanuel through the WhatsApp app to say that ESPN wanted to secure all the UFC’s media rights for a total payout of $300 million per year. He was on Disney’s corporate jet at the time, flying cross country to get to New York for ESPN’s upfront presentation the next day.
Emanuel and Shapiro continued with their meeting at Viacom, spending the next 45 minutes walking Bakish through UFC’s offerings.
At the end of the meeting, the two Endeavor executives jumped into a car and continued to text Mayer. They were trying to figure out how many fights in the second package could go onto ESPN+ and how many needed to be on ESPN.
By the time Emanuel and Shapiro got to their office, most of the outstanding issues had been resolved via text, with Magnus helping by phone from Bristol.
Mayer texted Emanuel: “Done. You have a deal.”
