Dana White gives TV deal update: “That’s when you’re going to see people making big moves”

UFC CEO Dana White is already looking ahead to the future of streaming media, which includes the promotion’s current seven-year contract with ESPN in the U.S.

Dana White, named CEO after the UFC and WWE merged under TKO Group Holdings Inc., provided a perspective on where things sit with television negotiations with ESPN and other media partners.

In an exclusive interview with Kevin Iole, formerly of Yahoo Sports, White is open to all possibilities. White quickly complimented YouTube and Amazon Prime’s adaptability to streaming, as both have rights to NFL games stateside.

“You can look at some of the things Amazon’s done and think whatever [about them], but it’s all about when rights become available,” Dana White said. “That’s when you’re going to see people making big moves. Who’s going to be first to be the big, dominant player out there [in streaming sports]? I actually have been saying for a long time that I’m blown away that Netflix didn’t get into sports sooner. What YouTube did [securing the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket] was brilliant.”

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White said he was pleased with how the UFC progressed through the pandemic, crediting the sport’s revival to the next generation of fans.

“Man, we were doing fights that should have done 350,000 [pay-per-view sales], and they wound up doing a million,” Dana White said. “There was nothing else on.”

White wants to see the UFC move into new territories and return to regular spots pre-COVID. But ultimately, White wants the consumer to be able to see the sport, live or on television, in the easiest ways possible.

“As technology continues to get better, the UFC continues to get bigger,” Dana White said. “We can reach more people. Back in the day, when I did this, the original deal, I’d have to go out and cut a million deals all over the world for distribution. Some would be on at different times and this and that. Now, with streaming, it’s pretty much [the] same time, same channel everywhere all over the world. Maybe there are three different ones, but this is the closest we’ve ever been to one stream.”

The UFC’s event calendar restarts Jan. 13 with a Fight Night event from the UFC APEX, headlined by a light heavyweight rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker.

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