Is There More to UFC’s Paramount Deal Than What Meets the Eye?
If you’ve been following the UFC in the past year, you’ve heard about the Paramount deal. It was a blockbuster move for the company, as all of the UFC’s formerly 80 dollar Pay-Per-Views suddenly became free. If you wanted the requisite ESPN+ subscription and wanted to watch all of the numbered events, it cost over a thousand dollars to be a UFC fan in 2025. Now, an entire year will only set you back 89.99. Being an MMA fan has never been easier, never been cheaper, and never been more accessible. The low price paints an interesting narrative, though.
Paramount is paying the UFC 1.1 billion dollars a year, for seven years, to display the UFC’s events for free on their platform. That means that in order for Paramount to break even on their deal, they have to make almost eight billion dollars in ad revenue and new subscriptions from prospective UFC fans by 2033. When one considers the dismal viewership ratings at the end of the ESPN deal, it seems highly unlikely that Paramount could recoup on its investment, barring some drastic increase in UFC viewership. So why would they pay so much for it, then? If it’s so difficult for Paramount to turn a profit with the UFC, why would they want to own the rights to it so badly?
It’s no secret that the UFC is closely aligned with Republican politics. President Trump is frequently in attendance, as recently as UFC 327, and in a couple of months, there will be fights on the White House lawn. Also tied into Republican politics, though, is the ownership of Paramount. Owner David Ellison is a close ally of Trump’s, and after acquiring ownership of CBS, has already made several conservative-friendly changes in leadership. The streaming platform also hosts shows like Landman, which have a conservative bent. Ellison’s consolidation of conservative media could extend to the UFC, and it would certainly be a big addition for him. Sports organizations like the NBA and NFL, while erring on the side of impartiality more than anything, dip their toes in the water of democratic politics more often than anything else. By giving the UFC a home on Paramount+, David Ellison adds another piece of Republican media to his belt, which seems to be a goal of his.
