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Paramount + -- FINE PRINT thread

jeff7b9

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Let's discuss the details beyond the headlines. I will do my best to update and move correct answers to the OP if you guys can answer questions.

____________________________________________
Is there an upcharge or is it in the base plan? > NO UPCHARGE <

Multiple sources confirm it is included in the base plan and numbered events will be simulcast on CBS


FYI: current cost is

$7.99/mo or $59.99 annual for "essential package with ads"

$12.99/mo or $119.99/yr for ad free

__________________________________
How will this impact fighter pay?

Is there a compensation for PPV bonus?

Some posters have suggested a "viewership bonus" which sounds plausible, hopefully it is appropriately scaled to function like a PPV bonus and not some bullshit $50k flat fee
__________________________________

How will this deal work for bars?

Chains like Buffalo Wild Wings and Miller's Ale House have previously paid hundreds of dollars or more per PPV event for the ability to show the fights and bring in customers.

Will there be a Paramount preferred vendors or approved public broadcasters type of deal worked out or does this become a free for all where any bar with TVs can now put on the UFC events if they choose to?

_______________________________________
What will happen to TUF and DWTNCS?

Ariel Helwani pointed out that these were not mentioned in any press releases.
__________________
Will this affect Fight Pass ?

will there continue to be any live UFC content on Fight Pass?

*I personally dont use fightpass, do they still do "fightpass prelims?"

will the back catalog remain on Fight Pass behind pay wall?
will future events continue to be added to fight pass?
__________________
What IS included? (per answer given by TKO exec in interview)

13 numbered events annually for 7 years
30 fight nights annually for 7 years
_________________
What about prelims?

will the entire numbered card air on CBS?
Or just the main card with the prelims on Paramount+?
_________________
_______________
What about APEX?

Was Paramount smart enough to include incentives sufficient to get UFC to value QUALITY and not just pump out quantity like it felt to some of us was their model during the ESPN+ guaranteed pay deal?

__________________________

What is the break even point for Paramount in terms of number of subscribers needed to gain in order to be profitable?

I heard on a press snippet that they currently have roughly 70mil subscribers.

They are going to pay roughly 1.1bil/year, and at 7.99/mo they make approximately 96$ per new subscriber...

So by my math they need around 11-12million additional subscribers (on avg or rounding out aggregate based on annual income) to turn a profit on this deal )

That seems quite doable to me. But feel free to check my math or point out where I am wrong and why I am dumb.

I posted detailed math and sources in another post below.
** post #35 in this thread **

UFC has 700m followers across all platforms, so Paramount needs roughly 2% of them to subscribe in order for this deal to be profitable for them based on rough estimates and my potentially wrong 4th grade math


_________


If you have questions that I missed, let me know.



Screenshot_20250811_141245_Google.jpg




_________

Really seems like great news for fight fans, particularly US fight fans who have been largely picking up the check for much of the rest of the world that gets the events on their normal cable packages....
 
Last edited:
Some posters have suggested a "viewership bonus"


The way viewership is going half the fighters will end up owning the UFC money


images
 
If I’m understanding this, you can watch the numbered (currently PPV) events with CBS such as cable, YouTube tv, or an antenna.

You only need paramount+ for the Fight Nights, etc. but you can also watch the numbered events through Paramount+
 
Really seems like great news for fight fans, particularly US fight fans who have been largely picking up the check for much of the rest of the world that gets the events on their normal cable packages....

Let's discuss the details beyond the headlines. I will do my best to update and move correct answers to the OP if you guys can answer questions.

____________________________________________
Is there an upcharge or is it in the base plan? > NO UPCHARGE <

Multiple sources confirm it is included in the $7.99 base plan and numbered events will be simulcast on CBS

__________________________________
How will this impact fighter pay? Is there a compensation for PPV bonus?

Some posters have suggested a "viewership bonus" which sounds plausible, hopefully it is appropriately scaled to function like a PPV bonus and not some bullshit $50k flat fee
__________________________________

How will this deal work for bars?

Chains like Buffalo Wild Wings and Miller's Ale House have previously paid hundreds of dollars or more per PPV event for the ability to show the fights and bring in customers.

Will there be a Paramount preferred vendors or approved public broadcasters type of deal worked out or does this become a free for all where any bar with TVs can now put on the UFC events if they choose to?

_______________________________________
What will happen to TUF and DWTNCS?

Ariel Helwani pointed out that these were not mentioned in any press releases.

__________________
What IS included?

13 numbered events annually for 7 years
30 fight nights annually for 7 years

_______________
What about APEX?

Was Paramount smart enough to include incentives sufficient to get UFC to value QUALITY and not just pump out quantity like it felt to some of us was their model during the ESPN+ guaranteed pay deal?

__________________________

What is the break even point for Paramount in terms of number of subscribers needed to gain in order to be profitable?

I heard on a press snippet that they currently have roughly 70mil subscribers.

They are going to pay roughly 1.1bil/year, and at 7.99/mo they make approximately 96$ per new subscriber...

So by my math they need around 11-12million additional subscribers (on avg or rounding out aggregate based on annual income) to turn a profit on this deal )

That seems quite doable to me. But feel free to check my math or point out where I am wrong and why I am dumb.

_________


If you have questions that I missed, let me know.

They also sell ads on the regular subscription.
 
Will the UFC allow fighters to obtain their own sponsorships again? Can these fighters wear whatever they want to help with branding and allow us to be invested in characters and stories they can build? Also 50k/50k seems low for 7.7 bil. Allow them some bargaining there. 150k minimum for each fight IMO
 
Really seems like great news for fight fans, particularly US fight fans who have been largely picking up the check for much of the rest of the world that gets the events on their normal cable packages....

Let's discuss the details beyond the headlines. I will do my best to update and move correct answers to the OP if you guys can answer questions.

____________________________________________
Is there an upcharge or is it in the base plan? > NO UPCHARGE <

Multiple sources confirm it is included in the $7.99 base plan and numbered events will be simulcast on CBS

__________________________________
How will this impact fighter pay? Is there a compensation for PPV bonus?

Some posters have suggested a "viewership bonus" which sounds plausible, hopefully it is appropriately scaled to function like a PPV bonus and not some bullshit $50k flat fee
__________________________________

How will this deal work for bars?

Chains like Buffalo Wild Wings and Miller's Ale House have previously paid hundreds of dollars or more per PPV event for the ability to show the fights and bring in customers.

Will there be a Paramount preferred vendors or approved public broadcasters type of deal worked out or does this become a free for all where any bar with TVs can now put on the UFC events if they choose to?

_______________________________________
What will happen to TUF and DWTNCS?

Ariel Helwani pointed out that these were not mentioned in any press releases.

__________________
What IS included?

13 numbered events annually for 7 years
30 fight nights annually for 7 years

_______________
What about APEX?

Was Paramount smart enough to include incentives sufficient to get UFC to value QUALITY and not just pump out quantity like it felt to some of us was their model during the ESPN+ guaranteed pay deal?

__________________________

What is the break even point for Paramount in terms of number of subscribers needed to gain in order to be profitable?

I heard on a press snippet that they currently have roughly 70mil subscribers.

They are going to pay roughly 1.1bil/year, and at 7.99/mo they make approximately 96$ per new subscriber...

So by my math they need around 11-12million additional subscribers (on avg or rounding out aggregate based on annual income) to turn a profit on this deal )

That seems quite doable to me. But feel free to check my math or point out where I am wrong and why I am dumb.

_________


If you have questions that I missed, let me know.
The fight bonus will be replaced with a spot on Paramount Plus's latest season of Dating Naked

In unrelated news, Handy Couture announced a comeback
 
If I’m understanding this, you can watch the numbered (currently PPV) events with CBS such as cable, YouTube tv, or an antenna.

You only need paramount+ for the Fight Nights, etc. but you can also watch the numbered events through Paramount+
Right so that means bars can show CBS without paying extra just you get TV commercials. Instead of what ever streaming ads there may be.
 
If I’m understanding this, you can watch the numbered (currently PPV) events with CBS such as cable, YouTube tv, or an antenna.

You only need paramount+ for the Fight Nights, etc. but you can also watch the numbered events through Paramount+

It is my understanding that :

numbered events will be on CBS and Paramount Plus

Fight nights will be Paramount Plus only (in US)

Not sure about the YouTube thing .


Also I am assuming CBS will air the main card, curious if it will air the prelims and will it be CBS CBS for this or some secondary CBS channel? Or main event on CBS proper but prelimsnon some CBS sports or secondary type CBS channel?
 
Really seems like great news for fight fans, particularly US fight fans who have been largely picking up the check for much of the rest of the world that gets the events on their normal cable packages....

Let's discuss the details beyond the headlines. I will do my best to update and move correct answers to the OP if you guys can answer questions.

____________________________________________
Is there an upcharge or is it in the base plan? > NO UPCHARGE <

Multiple sources confirm it is included in the $7.99 base plan and numbered events will be simulcast on CBS

__________________________________
How will this impact fighter pay? Is there a compensation for PPV bonus?

Some posters have suggested a "viewership bonus" which sounds plausible, hopefully it is appropriately scaled to function like a PPV bonus and not some bullshit $50k flat fee
__________________________________

How will this deal work for bars?

Chains like Buffalo Wild Wings and Miller's Ale House have previously paid hundreds of dollars or more per PPV event for the ability to show the fights and bring in customers.

Will there be a Paramount preferred vendors or approved public broadcasters type of deal worked out or does this become a free for all where any bar with TVs can now put on the UFC events if they choose to?

_______________________________________
What will happen to TUF and DWTNCS?

Ariel Helwani pointed out that these were not mentioned in any press releases.

__________________
What IS included?

13 numbered events annually for 7 years
30 fight nights annually for 7 years
_________________
What about prelims?

will the entire numbered card air on CBS?
Or just the main card with the prelims on Paramount+?
_________________
_______________
What about APEX?

Was Paramount smart enough to include incentives sufficient to get UFC to value QUALITY and not just pump out quantity like it felt to some of us was their model during the ESPN+ guaranteed pay deal?

__________________________

What is the break even point for Paramount in terms of number of subscribers needed to gain in order to be profitable?

I heard on a press snippet that they currently have roughly 70mil subscribers.

They are going to pay roughly 1.1bil/year, and at 7.99/mo they make approximately 96$ per new subscriber...

So by my math they need around 11-12million additional subscribers (on avg or rounding out aggregate based on annual income) to turn a profit on this deal )

That seems quite doable to me. But feel free to check my math or point out where I am wrong and why I am dumb.

_________


If you have questions that I missed, let me know.
You posted a bunch of questions and no answers GTFO lol
 
The press release says that PPV will be longer in the US only, I wonder if this means Canadians will still have to pay PPV if Paramount+ geo blocks Canada for UFC content like streaming services already do for certain content. Obviously a VPN gets around this, but not everyone uses one, and if you have to use that just for UFC that would be kind of lame.
 
Will the UFC allow fighters to obtain their own sponsorships again? Can these fighters wear whatever they want to help with branding and allow us to be invested in characters and stories they can build? Also 50k/50k seems low for 7.7 bil. Allow them some bargaining there. 150k minimum for each fight IMO
If you think Uncle Dana will allow fighters to have their own sponsors I'd like to sell you shares in the GWB Bridge.
 
Another fine print is the numbered events are almost guaranteed to be starting earlier to maximize advertising and viewership dollars

When they had the national fox cards though started, I think around 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. for the main card versus starting at 9:00 p.m. Central
 
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