UFC Signing with ESPN was pure genius

[moosaev]

Literally for the first time ever I have my non sport watching friends sending me stuff about the UFC. This girl asked me what my thoughts are on Khabib-Gaethje. Another person commented to me about Adesanya dry humping Costa. It’s crazy. Even in the Conor days that shit never happened. Gotta be the mothership platform. Let’s enjoy this era, because I think as the UFC starts taking the spotlight their fighter contracts won’t be tenable forever and fighters will eventually gain more parity due to the increased popularity. We may be in the golden age of the UFC.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

Umn. They took the highest bidder.

That being said, from no PPV to PPV to Spike to Fox to ESPN, they have indeed marched their way into mainstream. So if that was the actual point you were trying to make, then ya, I agree.

 

[Kos Fan]

Signing with the worlds biggest sports network would help out any sport.

 

[moosaev]

Umn. They took the highest bidder.

That being said, from no PPV to PPV to Spike to Fox to ESPN, they have indeed marched their way into mainstream. So if that was your actual point, then ya, I agree.

Did they? I’d imagine that the calculation involves more than just cold hard numbers. It’s like getting paid in cash or stocks, always pick stocks for an asset that is appreciating.

 

[moosaev]

Signing with the worlds biggest sports network would help out any sport.

True, I didn’t realize it would be this quick though

 

[SeattleFightFan]

Did they?

yes.

 

[moosaev]

yes.

I suspect it’s more complicated though. It’s like when you’re underwriting an asset, you take into consideration non cash equities. In this case there is a monetary value to ESPN’s reach and status that goes well beyond a simple cash bid.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

I suspect it’s more complicated though. It’s like when you’re underwriting an asset, you take into consideration non cash equities. In this case there is a monetary value to ESPN’s reach and status that goes well beyond a simple cash bid.

In no uncertain terms WME negotiated hard with both Fox and ESPN. And I think there was another player in there but I cannot remember who right now. They almost went with Fox, but Fox played hard ball and ESPN upped their bid.

Would WME have gone with ESPN if they weren't the highest bidder? Hard to say. But if so, then your post most definitely would have had more strength behind it. But as it stands, they went with ESPN, the highest bidder.

A year later Disney+ came to fruition and signed an even more fruitful deal with UFC. Now, was that idea in the works when the new deal was signed? And if so would they have taken ESPN for less than Fox? Again, hard to say.

 

[Coolkid666]

Thats progress considering Ive always been surrounded by casuals and the only fighter they knew was GSP

 

[bdstwin]

I don't have many friends due to deep insecurities and possible hormonal imbalance.

 

[Kos Fan]

True, I didn’t realize it would be this quick though

It was great timing too with quarantine shutting sports down, fight island being a big success, and there’s been big fights like Masvidal VS Usman, Costa VS Izzy, and of course Khabib on deck.

 

[Mesos]

Deal has been fantastic for both sides. ESPN on down low has been liking UFC for years but didnt want to cover it much because it was with there main competitor fox sports.

ESPN is very happy with UFC they even extended there deal and commited more resources to them now. UFC has actually saved Espn+ ass because they where struggling for a while with getting subscribers. Espn+ is extremely important to Disney and they invested alot on the platform, they cannot let it fail. ESPN sees the huge value of UFC and probably like the ppvs cuts it gets. Been curious what ppv split there doing...

I doubt Disney ever let them go now they directly see the value now. Companies like UFC that can make huge lump sums on one weekend event consistently are very very appealing. I could even see a situation where Disney outright buys the UFC

 

[fiftywattmafia]

Calm down.

 

[Ladder Master]

This thread is Shill-er-riffic!!

Makes me want to eat Shills and cheese while picking up Shills by the seashore.

 

[kwijyboy]

But when Stephen A Smith did commentary...that was a step back.

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

There's going to be a lot of corruption in the future, fixed fights and what not. It's already headed in the same direction as boxing.

 

[Leonard Haid]

I think it has more to do with the UFC having done such a great job churning out event after event during the pandemic while other sports and other MMA orgs shut down. Sports fans couldn't watch fresh whatever they were fans of, so they checked up on UFC. Dana Bless.

 

[BlackPanther]

UFC conned ESPN

 

[Mesos]

HAHAHAH you have no clue about anything you're talking about. The main reason ESPN has seen a bump in subscribers is they packaged it with Disney +. And the deal is already paid for. They already agreed to the overall value of the deal, they don't get any more or less money off the UFC regardless of how it performs. I haven't seen anywhere talking about ESPN getting part of the PPV cut

Your capatilized hahas are kind of creepy lol

Anyways the big bump they got initially was from the pairing offers where you order the ppv and get discounted ESPN plus for the year. Mcgregors huge ppv in January helped that a ton. It was a talking point on Disney shareholders meeting when they got to ESPN stuff. They specifically mentioned how well the Mcgregor ppv did actually

Obviously the 3 pack bundle with disney plus they did a few months after that also helped too so your right in that sense. Either way its pretty clear UFC is the most important thing for ESPN + right now and clearly they are happy with UFC hence why they extended/modified deal.

The details of deal are very guarded so not much info out there. But I am pretty damn sure ESPN is getting a cut of those ppv sales. They are pushing UFC alot on there platform. I am sure they want there beak wet on ppv sales for there efforts lol. Seriously though thats how these media companies think. Ppvs are such huge lumps of money doubt they could resist. I dont think they are getting a crazy huge cut like the cable companies used to though.

Also the talk of Disney buying isnt that crazy. Actually not too long ago Fox wanted to buy the UFC too.

So yea

 

[Willy Knuckles]

Your capatilized hahas are kind of creepy lol

Anyways the big bump they got initially was from the pairing offers where you order the ppv and get discounted ESPN plus for the year. Mcgregors huge ppv in January helped that a ton. It was a talking point on Disney shareholders meeting when they got to ESPN stuff. They specifically mentioned how well the Mcgregor ppv did actually

Obviously the 3 pack bundle with disney plus they did a few months after that also helped too so your right in that sense. Either way its pretty clear UFC is the most important thing for ESPN + right now and clearly they are happy with UFC hence why they extended/modified deal.

The details of deal are very guarded so not much info out there. But I am pretty damn sure ESPN is getting a cut of those ppv sales. They are pushing UFC alot on there platform. I am sure they want there beak wet on ppv sales for there efforts lol. Seriously though thats how these media companies think. Ppvs are such huge lumps of money doubt they could resist. I dont think they are getting a crazy huge cut like the cable companies used to though.

Also the talk of Disney buying isnt that crazy. Actually not too long ago Fox wanted to buy the UFC too.

So yea

I was mistaking so I tried deleting my comment. I'll take this L though lol