Dana White Set to Make UFC $3 Billion Richer as Massive TV Deal Set in Place According to Wall Street Insider

The UFC had a blockbuster 2023, marking yet another successful year for Dana White. Year͏ after year, the promotion has been achieving record profits, solidifying its dominance. ͏Moreover, Wall͏ Street ͏is closely eyeing UFC and TKO as lucrative st͏ocks, as an exciting new deal is reportedly on the horizon for the MMA giants.

The UFC has been creating a buzz on Wall Street lately, with ͏its impressive profitability catching the attention of analysts. Although TKO faced a drop in sto͏ck prices in September, there is speculation that it could be on the verge of a significant rebound in 2024.

Is the UFC going through a massive change in 2024?

Wall Stre͏et appears optimistic about the upcoming year ͏for the UFC. Eric Handler from Roth MKM ͏highlighted the strong performance of TKO in the entertainment sector, naming it ͏as one of their top choices for companies in 2024. During a discussion ͏with ‘The͏ Hollywood Reporter,’ Handler expressed confidence in TKO, adopting a positive outlook.

“We continue to have a positive view toward sports/live events programming, especially those with a high level of revenue being contractually guaranteed. The market for sports rights fees remains strong, aided by an increasing number of interested distributors,” said Handler.

The dynamic era of streaming services has heavily affected the general television era. However, live spor͏ts rights’ fees are ͏continuously increasing, as networks and ͏streaming services show a growing willingness to ͏pay a premium for events ͏that are generally resistant to work stoppages or production delays. WWE has already made the broadcasting deals for its premium events.

The UFC is currently exploring a fresh broadcast rights agreement in 2024, as the existing deal with ESPN is set to conclude in 2025. At present, ESPN holds exclusive rights to all UFC content, encompassing crucial pay-per-view broadcasts that have significantly contributed to the ongoing success of ESPN+. “A UFC TV deal could be announced by year-end with new contract terms upwards of two times the current value,” Handler quoted. To put it into perspective the last UFC TV deal was valued at $1.5 billion so the next deal would be a bigger number than this and might be around $3 billion. Nonetheless, what does the CEO have to say about this?

Dana White clarifies the TV deal

While having a conversation with Kevin Iole, formerly of Yahoo Sports, White appreciated the versatility of internet, acknowledging YouTube and Amazon Prime’s flexibility in streaming with the NFL games in the United States. “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,” said Dana White

He further added, “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 was brilliant.”

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White further explained that the UFC would grow alongside the growth of technology. The happening and non-happening of the deal will be disclosed in the future. However, it is certainly true that UFC might be looking for opportunities elsewhere if they get their hands on a better deal.

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