Dana White appears to be already walking back the idea of the UFC’s pay-per-view model being ‘dead’, just hours after it appeared that those days were over.
UFC President White yesterday announced the promotion’s new broadcast deal with Paramount and CBS, which is reportedly worth $7.7billion over seven years.
TKO Group President and Chief Operations Officer Mark Shapiro claimed in a CNBC interview that the deal would spell the end of PPV. He also claimed that most ‘numbered’ events, now on ESPN+ PPV, would likely end up on CBS, another point White has contradicted.
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Dana White seemingly contradicts UFC boss over pay-per-view death
There appear to be a few issues that still need to be ironed out on the UFC’s end of this big-money deal. TKO Group President Mark Shapiro stated yesterday that “the pay-per-view model is a thing of the past. What’s on pay-per-view anymore? Boxing? Movies on DirecTV? It’s an outdated, antiquated model.”
However, just hours later Dana White gave an interview to the New York Post that directly opposed that notion. “Anything is possible,” White said. “And you could do a one-off pay-per-view. I am going to be on pay-per-view this Saturday. Pay-Per-View is not dead.”
That’s not the only contradiction the pair had in their messaging. During an appearance on CNBC, Shapiro said “CBS will have simulcasts of a lot of the fights and likely all of the numbered events which are formerly the pay-per-view fights.”
But White speaking to CBS Sports later in the day claimed that the broadcast network would be getting just four big events a year. As part of their current broadcast plan with ESPN and ABC, occasional events are made available on ABC but it is generally Fight Nights, not major numbered events.
UFC fans rejoiced in news of new broadcast deal that spelled the end of PPV
The news of the end of pay-per-view was initially celebrated by fans, whose expenditure year-on-year could drop by around $1,000 to watch all of the events. White even noted in his initial statement that the sport will grow massively due to the removal of pay-per-view.
“This historic deal with Paramount and CBS is incredible for UFC fans and our athletes,” White said in a statement on social media.
“For the first time ever, fans in the US will have access to all UFC content without a Pay Per-View model, making it more affordable and accessible to view the greatest fights on a massive platform.
“This deal puts UFC amongst the biggest sports in the world. The exposure provided by the Paramount and CBS networks under this new structure is a huge win for our athletes and anyone who watches and loves this sport.”