Is The UFC Headed For Netflix?

Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO, has commented on whether the network will obtain the broadcasting rights for the UFC. 

The UFC’s current deal with ESPN is coming to an end this year. ESPN had a three-month exclusive window to negotiate a new deal, which expired on April 16, giving it chance to speak with other networks. Several names have been linked with the UFC. Amazon Prime and NBC are just some of those. Dana White has previously said that the UFC could explore a multi-network deal. This has the advantage of expanding the UFC’s profile while also not being locked into a deal long term, maintaining flexibility.

The NBA signed an 11-year deal with Disney, NBC, and Amazon Prime worth roughly $76 billion. Reports indicate that the UFC wants $1 billion a year moving forward. Netflix has shown it has an appetite for combat sports, as they signed a ten-year deal to air Monday Night Raw worth $5 billion.

They have also aired some mega fights on the platform. Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson broke records, as it became the most watched streaming fight ever. Sarandos has now revealed that Netflix is focused more on one-off events that have the potential to do well, raising doubts over whether it would want a deal to secure UFC rights over a long period. 

Sarandos Reacts

“I’m not going to comment on any of those specific opportunities at this time. But I will steer you back to the letter to show you that our live event strategy is unchanged. We remain really focused on the big, breakthrough events. Our audiences love them. “So anything we chase in the event space or the sports space is a deal that would have to make economic sense as well.

“Live is a relatively small part of our content spend. We have about 200 billion view hours so small relative to view hours, too. But that said, all viewing is not equal. What we have seen with live is this very outsized positives around conversation and acquisition and we suspect retention. We’re really excited to keep building on that.

“We have the Taylor-Serrano fight in July. That’s a rematch from when they fought the first time on the [Mike] Tyson-[Jake] Paul fight night. It was the most watched women’s sporting event in U.S. history. So there’s a lot of excitement on that. The NFL, of course, is a great property. We’re happy to have the Christmas day games that we opted into the second NFL game for Christmas day so we’ll be presenting all-day football again on Dec. 25, 2025. Really exciting. “Then today our live adventures have all been primarily in the U.S. but we intend to grow the capability to do it around the world in the years ahead. Very pleased with the progress so far and excited about the future for live sports and non-sports,” Sarandos said