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UFC on ESPN

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 10 min

UFC on ESPN
Series logo since 2019
Also known asUFC on ESPN Fight Night
UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night
GenreMixed martial arts telecasts
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Production locationAll locations in various arenas
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time180 minutes or until game ends
Production companiesTKO Group Holdings
The Walt Disney Company
Original release
NetworkESPN (2019-present)
ESPN+ (2019-present)
ABC (2021-present)
FX (2019)
Related
Fox UFC

The UFC on ESPN or alternatively UFC on ESPN Fight Night is the branding of Ultimate Fighting Championship events produced by ESPN and aired on ESPN's sister networks, it's streaming service ESPN+ and ABC.

In May 2018, the UFC announced new five-year digital and linear television rights deals with ESPN, which came into effect in January 2019. 20 UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night cards per-year are streamed exclusively by the service, as well as preliminaries for 10 UFC on ESPN Fight Night cards per-year.

History[edit]

Background[edit]

See also: Fox UFC

On August 18, 2011, the Ultimate Fighting Championship reached a seven-year broadcast agreement with Fox Sports, giving it the rights to televise matches sanctioned by the promotion through 2018, ending the UFC's relationship with cable channel Spike. Through the agreement, Fox Sports will air four live events per year in either prime time or late night, as well as other UFC programming (including UFC Fight Night, Road to the Octagon and The Ultimate Fighter) on its various broadcast and cable properties, including on Fox, FX and Fuel TV.[1] The deal was significant as it marked the first time that the UFC would televise its events on terrestrial television in the United States.[2]

The deal between Fox and the UFC would last until 2018 with the final broadcast being UFC on Fox: Lee vs. Iaquinta 2.

2019-present[edit]

On May 23, 2018, the UFC and ESPN announced that they had agreed to to a five-year contract which would begin in January 2019. The five-year contracts were cumulatively valued at $300 million per-year for digital and linear rights, roughly doubling the amount paid by Fox in the final year of its previous contract, and included 42 events on ESPN platforms per-year. ESPN linear networks would televise preliminary cards for UFC PPV events, and 10 UFC on ESPN Fight Night events per-year. The subscription streaming service ESPN+ would broadcast 20 exclusive events per-year under the branding UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night; regardless of network, all Fight Night events will feature a full, 12-fight card, and their preliminaries will air exclusively on ESPN+.

The ESPN+ service would also hold on-demand rights to UFC library and archive content, new seasons of Dana White's Contender Series, and other new original content. UFC Fight Pass will be purchasable as an add-on for ESPN+ to stream pay-per-view events.[3][4][5][6][7]

On March 18, 2019, it was announced that ESPN had reached a two-year extension of the contract. In addition, it was announced that in the United States, future UFC PPVs will only be sold through ESPN+ to its subscribers, and will no longer be sold via traditional television providers beginning with UFC 236. At the same time, the standard price for UFC PPVs was lowered to $59.99 (from $64.99), and new subscribers will be able to purchase a bundle of UFC PPV for a year of ESPN+ too.[8]

In 2021, ABC would begin to air UFC events which would be simulcast on ESPN+, This would mark the first time since the Fox deal ended in 2018, that the UFC would air on broadcast television.[9]

On-air staff[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Mike Whitman (August 18, 2011). "UFC, Fox Announce 7-Year Broadcast Deal". Sherdog.com. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  2. ^ "It's Official: UFC and Fox Are Now in Business Together". MMA Weekly. August 18, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  3. ^ "UFC Moving to ESPN From Fox in Deal Valued at $1.5B". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on 2021-10-18. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "What we know about the UFC's $1.5 billion broadcast deal with ESPN". Bloody Elbow. Archived from the original on 2021-10-18. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  5. ^ Hayes, Dade (May 8, 2018). "ESPN Enters The Octagon With UFC Streaming Deal". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2021-10-18. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  6. ^ "Report: ESPN wrestles UFC television-rights deal away from Fox Sports". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2021-10-18. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  7. ^ "Report: ESPN lands UFC television rights deal, reportedly worth $150 million per year". Bloody Elbow. Archived from the original on 2021-10-18. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  8. ^ "ESPN Extends With UFC; ESPN+ Becomes Exclusive PPV Provider". Sports Business Daily. Archived from the original on 2021-10-18. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  9. ^ Marc Raimondi (2021-01-04). "UFC Fight Night: Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar main card to air on ABC network television". espn.com. Retrieved 2024-02-05.

External links[edit]

Official website

Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_on_ESPN
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