Among the most celebrated news within the UFC’s new seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast deal with Paramount was the surprising revelation that the promotion was ditching its long-held pay-per-view model in 2026 and instead offering its 13 annual numbered shows without additional cost on various Paramount platforms.
The pay-per-view model has been a hallmark of the UFC since its inception in 1993 and has been especially emphasized during the organization’s seven-year broadcast partnership with ESPN, during which pay-per-view costs have risen in the U.S. from $59.99 to $79.99.
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And while UFC CEO Dana White’s assertion that “fans in the U.S. will have access to all UFC content without a pay-per-view model” will indeed hold true once the deal kicks off next year, the same can’t be said for everywhere. At Saturday’s post-fight press conference for UFC Paris, UFC senior vice president for international operations and content David Shaw explained that pay-per-views will still exist under the Paramount deal for countries outside of the U.S. that already pay for the promotion’s numbered shows.
“I think there’s an important distinction that is necessary for this conversation — that is, pay-per-view still exists as a distribution medium [for the UFC],” Shaw said.
“So what we’ve changed with Paramount and the deal in the U.S. is we’ve just changed the distribution platform for our content. So pay-per-view will no longer exist in the U.S. — we’ve still got vibrant pay-per-view businesses in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a number of other places.”
Shaw added that the UFC’s traditional 10 p.m. ET pay-per-view start time will likely continue for the numbered events into the new era, as will the promotion’s reticence to bring pay-per-views to countries outside of North America aside from its annual visits to Abu Dhabi.
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UFC’s seven-year deal with Paramount carries an average annual cost of $1.1 billion, however the payment structure is weighted to have Paramount paying less in the early years of the agreement.
While the initial deal applies only to the UFC’s U.S. broadcast rights, Paramount officials did express an interest in August in purchasing the company’s international broadcast rights once they become available. If and when that happens, it’s possible the dumping of the pay-per-view model extends to certain overseas markets as well. Until then, however, some fight fans outside of the U.S. will continue needing to fork over extra cash every month to consume the majority of the sport’s biggest fights.
