Paramount has struck a $7.7bn (£5.7bn) deal to become the exclusive US broadcaster of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, just days after its controversial merger with Skydance Media.
Under the seven-year deal with the sports group’s parent company, TKO Group, all 13 of UFC’s marquee numbered events and 30 Fight Nights a year will be streamed on the Paramount+ service, with a selected number also simulcast on CBS, from next year.
The agreement will mean the end of UFC’s current pay-per-view model on the Disney-owned ESPN+ service.
The deal comes a week after David Ellison took over as chair and chief executive following Skydance’s $8.4bn takeover of the Hollywood studio and broadcasting business, with the media company saying it may pursue UFC rights in other markets as they come up for renewal.
“Live sports continue to be a cornerstone of our broader strategy,” said Ellison. “[It drives] engagement, subscriber growth and long-term loyalty. The addition of UFC’s year-round must-watch events to our platforms is a major win.”
Paramount is paying $1.1bn on average annually to TKO Group for the rights and will offer all the matches at no additional cost to consumers.
Mark Shapiro, president and chief operating officer at TKO, said: “Paramount is a platinum partner with significant reach. Our new agreement unlocks powerful opportunities at TKO for years to come.”
UFC is led by Dana White, an ally of the US president, Donald Trump, who spoke at his victory rally in Washington DC in January. He is also a board member of Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram.
Ellison, the 42-year-old son of the multibillionaire co-founder of Oracle, Larry Ellison, is working with Paramount’s other co-owner, RedBird Capital, to cut $2bn in costs from the business.
RedBird, which is run by Gerry Cardinale, is also in the process of pushing through a £500m takeover of the Telegraph.
The rights deal follows completion of the protracted merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media, a process which drew regulatory and political scrutiny and raised concerns among some investors.
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Last month Paramount Global agreed to pay $16m to settle a legal dispute with Trump over what the president claimed was misleading editing of a pre-election interview on its CBS News network with the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris.
While CBS initially called the lawsuit “completely without merit”, its parent company decided to settle.
CBS also cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert days after the eponymous host said the settlement by the network’s parent company was a “bribe”.
Paramount owns assets including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Showtime and Channel 5 in the UK. The film studio has produced Hollywood blockbusters including Top Gun: Maverick, as well as the Mission: Impossible and Star Trek franchises.
