After the news broke that the TKO-owned UFC and Paramount Global had agreed to a seven-year, $7.7 billion rights deal, there were rumblings that ESPN’s interest in covering the MMA league could dissipate.
“One thing that I don’t think that has been talked about enough in all of this, and I can’t wait to see what it turns into — and again, you’re the perfect person to talk to this about — is you know that when ESPN is out of business with a sports entity, they essentially stopped covering that entity, right?” longtime MMA reporter Ariel Helwani said on a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast.
“The NHL corollary,” Simmons mused.
“They’re the perfect example,” Helwani agreed. “They left, they stopped covering them. They’re back, they’ve got ancillary shows, they’ve got analysts, they’ve got the coverage on SportsCenter. I’m fascinated to see how ESPN treats UFC. If history is any indication, it will be the same way.”
For his part, UFC President and CEO Dana White remains bullish on ESPN’s desire to cover the league and sport even after it no longer has the media rights.
“Coming out of this deal, I have an incredible relationship with ESPN,” White said on CNBC Monday. “There’s a lot of talk that once ESPN’s out of business with sports, they don’t cover them anymore. I’m very confident that we will have an amazing relationship with ESPN and they will still cover the sport.”
White is probably right that they will continue to cover UFC results. Still, it’s undeniable that the ways the Worldwide Leader incorporated UFC fighters and event promotion into its programming are likely to go away. It will be something worth monitoring. At the very least, it will be impossible for ESPN to ignore UFC’s proposed event at the White House, if that happens.
That’s a problem for another day, at least. UFC will remain on ESPN through the end of 2025 before switching over to Paramount in a deal that UFC commentator Joe Rogan thinks will help the sport go “f*cking hypernova.”
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.