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Paramount + -- FINE PRINT thread

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.

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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

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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
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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?

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What will happen to TUF and DWTNCS?

Ariel Helwani pointed out that these were not mentioned in any press releases.
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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?
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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
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What about prelims?

will the entire numbered card air on CBS?
Or just the main card with the prelims on Paramount+?
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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?

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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


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



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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....
Great thread, I have a question too, if you have ad-free Paramount+ then do you get to stay on the arena broadcast through live events with no commercial break like the old PPV's were?
 
Damn, so the base plan will include all UFC Fight Nights and PPVs at no extra cost?
<mma4>
 
Paramount is gonna turn match making into WWE and it’s already been said or kinda rumoured that that with paramount it’s gonna be entertainment over matches that make sense
 
Yeah feedback seemed to ba a whole lot of ads in yer face.

Even with the "ad free" package.


So I guess that begs the followup:
Is there any point to buying ad free if you watch primarily ufc?
no. you can mute commercials and focus on something else.
 
All I know is, I took a gander through their stuff on the app, a 2000s collection, 2010s collection, no 90s collection, the collection I'd actually watch. The people who run this train wreck rarely do anything that makes me like them
 
no. you can mute commercials and focus on something else.

I watched this event with a few old buddies from high school.

Realized when I got on sherdog that I didnt even really notice the ads that everyone else was talking about because we were talking over everything and easily distracted and sidetracked.

However... I usually keep things on hand to kill time in between fights anyway; vape pen, ukulele; harmonica, etc ... so I am hoping it won't bother me that much next week.
 
I watched this event with a few old buddies from high school.

Realized when I got on sherdog that I didnt even really notice the ads that everyone else was talking about because we were talking over everything and easily distracted and sidetracked.

However... I usually keep things on hand to kill time in between fights anyway; vape pen, ukulele; harmonica, etc ... so I am hoping it won't bother me that much next week.

Yea for sure, I get some good guitar reps in during UFC events. So much filler in between fights. Need to kill the time somehow with something other than just getting fucked up.

I kinda have an answer to the question about sports bars and live events. Mind you, I can’t really cite an authoritative source other than Google and a local wing joint owner.

Our memberships to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Paramount are not for commercial use. A quick read of your user agreement for any of these services will corroborate that. Hence, streaming a UFC event, or anything for that matter, in a restaurant or other public setting would technically be illegal unless you have a Public Performance License. According to the internet, these are brokered through a third party, and not directly with the streaming service. Cost estimates vary between 300-2000 USD. This sounds in line with what bars and restaurants would pay for licensing to show a PPV. However, I have not found any info on how much the license costs for Paramount specifically in 2026.

In short, nothing has really changed from a commercial streaming standpoint. If a restaurant or bar never bothered to get the license to stream UFC events, not sure why they’d start now. Larger chains like. B -dubs will likely pay for the licensing as they always have.
 
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Paramount has to be the least tech savy streaming service I've used. Netflix, Hulu, and HBO have all figured out how to stop password sharing. I've been using a family member's Paramount password for years and still no problem.
 
Paramount has to be the least tech savy streaming service I've used. Netflix, Hulu, and HBO have all figured out how to stop password sharing. I've been using a family member's Paramount password for years and still no problem.
This reminds me of how Paramount mishandled my Showtime subscription.

I signed up for a Showtime free trial, but also had a separate Paramount account. Once Showtime determined that I had a Paramount account, they said future dealing must be via the latter. Thing is, I needed to cancel my free trial. I repeatedly emailed both Showtime and Paramount to cancel, but each insisted that I go through the other!

The thing is, I'm not paying anything for Showtime and eventually dropped Paramount as well. The doofuses allowed me free subscription access to Showtime for about 2&1/2 years! I didn't care one way or the other as I hardly watched it, but I marveled at their ineptitude. The situation only ended when Paramount+ absorbed Showtime into itself.
 
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