Earlier this year, the UFC announced it had signed a $7.7 billion deal with Paramount+ to move away from ESPN.
The move to Paramount will end the pay-per-view model, with Fight Nights on Paramount+ and numbered events on CBS. This is a significant change in the US marketplace.
Well, this week it was announced that Paramount Australia and New Zealand would also be getting the UFC. Because it’s been a massive week for me with work and saying goodbye to a beloved family pet, I didn’t have the opportunity to read past the headlines.
In my infinite wisdom, I thought that since the UFC announced the partnership with Paramount here, that was the end of the pay-per-view model here in Australia. However, we still need to fork out our hard-earned cash, as only the Fight Nights’ pay-per-view preliminary cards are heading to Paramount+. Main Event, which is available on Foxtel and Kayo Sports, will still be showing the numbered events.
Select UFC events will also be shown on Network 10 in Australia, which Paramount owns. This is not the first time that UFC events have been shown on Network 10. At UFC’s first event in Australia in 2010, UFC 110, along with programming like the countdown shows, Fight Nights, and preliminary cards were shown on One Sport, a digital channel owned by 10.
The other region that was announced, along with Australia, was Latin America. But, unlike Australia, Latin America will get all 13 numbered events on Paramount+. I’m guessing that, due to the UFC’s partnership with Foxtel in Australia, they didn’t want to sever ties with them. I’m just a bit confused on a couple of things.
One thing that confuses me is the death of the pay-per-view model. If Aussie fight fans still have to pay for events, I’m guessing it’s only dead in America and Latin America. Why can’t we have it all on Paramount?
The other thing was that some fighters were worried about their pay-per-view points. Here is a quick explainer on pay-per-view points if you didn’t know about them:
With the Paramount deal announced and all events on the streaming service and CBS, that meant the end of Pay-per-view points. But the model isn’t dead here in Australia, so what does that extra money mean for fighters? It may not be a lot, but it is still revenue coming in for the UFC.
And how long before it all goes to Paramount+? Or will fight fans here have to pay for events for a long time? As excited as I am about the UFC being on Paramount+ here in Australia, the cost of living isn’t going down right now, and I don’t really have much spare change after some costly pet bills. I will keep paying for the events I watch, but it might be cheaper for me to get a VPN and sign up for Paramount US.
I might be getting ahead of myself, but we will wait and see how things work out for us Aussies.
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