Miami — The UFC’s U.S. broadcast rights, currently sitting with ESPN, expire at the end of the year, with the exclusive negotiation window between the promotion and cable sports net end on April 15.
That means that the organization can then begin to speak with other suitors, something UFC CEO and President Dana White addressed during the UFC 314 post-fight press conference in Miami on Saturday. And were the promotion to leave ESPN in part or whole (there’s always a chance that UFC events become split between networks), it could bring about the end of the Pay-Per-View model that has long fueled the company.
Asked if the elimination of Pay-Per-View was a possibility, White told Cageside Press that “We do what works for the network. What do they want to do? Do they just want to just put it on their air, do they want to do PPV? I don’t know. Do they want to put it behind a paywall? I don’t know any of those things.”
“Tuesday, the window opens and we start talking to other networks and we’ll get more into that.”
White gave a similar response when asked about the number of UFC events scheduled each year, which currently sits at 43.
“When the window opens we’ll obviously start talking to lots of different people. We’ll see what the options are out there. It could be we wind up on several different networks like all other sports do,” White stated. “I like ESPN. We had a bit of a rocky start, which is normal in any relationship, but we’re in a great place with ESPN. Whether we re-sign with them or do not, I have nothing but great things to say about ESPN.”
The commitments of EPSN, or any other potential broadcast partner for the UFC, will likely come into play when it comes to scheduling.
“It depends on ESPN or where ever else we go is looking for. Most of the time when you do these deals, you’re catering to what the network needs,” noted White. “Plus, they’ll have other programming, other sports that they’re already committed to. Certain times, seasons, whatever it may be.”
Asked about the rumored one billion dollar price tag the UFC is looking for when their broadcast rights renew, Dana White said simply “sounds good to me.”
