UFC looking for more than $1 billion annually in new TV rights deal

One of the last big sports TV rights deals available for some time will come with a hefty price tag as the UFC is reportedly looking for more than $1 billion annually in their next TV rights package.

The number was reported by Bloomberg on Friday noting that in addition to ESPN, possible suitors include Netflix, Amazon, WBD, and YouTube for the pay-per-view component. ESPN & UFC/TKO are currently in their exclusive negotiating window that lasts through mid-April.

Splitting rights remains a possibility as TKO head Mark Shapiro has discussed in the past.

UFC is about to complete a five-year, $1.5 billion contract with ESPN at the end of this year. That includes the exclusive rights to offer UFC PPVs via their ESPN+ platform in addition to Fight Night events, The Ultimate Fighter, and access to library content.

It will be the second of three straight years of TV rights financial windfalls for TKO properties following the January 2025 kickoff of a 10-year, $5 billion worldwide deal between WWE and Netflix; a five-year, $1.4 billion domestic deal between WWE and NBC Universal that began in October 2024, and next year’s WWE domestic PLE/library rights currently on Peacock that comes up in March 2026.