If you want to purchase UFC pay-per-views, then starting in 2020 it’ll cost you a few extra bucks.
ESPN announced on Wednesday that starting with UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cerrone, they’ll be raising PPV events (in the United States) from $59.99 to $64.99, which is really just a case of “back to the future,” if you will.
“This price change represents a return to the price that UFC fans traditionally paid, prior to ESPN+ decreasing the PPV price for most of 2019,” an ESPN rep told Variety.
The UFC moved its pay-per-views exclusively to ESPN+ back in April, taking traditional cable and satellite providers out of the equation. One of the benefits of this current arrangement is that ESPN pays the UFC a fee for each PPV regardless of the number of buys. Estimated pay-per-view totals are now a thing of the past behind the ESPN+ paywall, although MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer claims 2019 has been a down year.
Much lower but how much is a well kept secret. https://t.co/dYXMeNBEzd
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) December 8, 2019
Ever since UFC 236, PPV prices moved down to $59.99, with ESPN+ subscribers paying $4.99 a month for exclusive live and original UFC programming. Essentially, with 12 pay-per-views scheduled, it’ll be a $60 total increase if you want to watch everything in 2020.
At least for now, ESPN+ will remain a $4.99 monthly subscription charge, or $49.99 for a one-year commitment. New subscribers can order UFC 246 and get a one-year ESPN+ subscription at a packaged deal of $84.98.
Oh, and if this news irks you, ESPN and the UFC are in partnership through at least 2025, so it’s not going to be dissolving any time soon.
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