Dana White on new TV deal in 2025

The head of the UFC organization talked about plans for 2025. Dana White admitted that the most important thing will be the expiration of the TV rights deal.

The UFC will hold four more events in 2024. The UFC 309 gala will take place in New York this weekend, then the UFC will visit Macau, after a week off the organization will return to Las Vegas for UFC 310, and the year will close with an event in Tampa, Florida.

Dana White was asked about the UFC’s plans for 2025 during an interview for TNT Sports. The UFC chief admitted that this year could be a watershed year due to the fact that the contract with the current TV partner is expiring. The organization will be negotiating a new contract to sell TV rights.

– Every year I expect the same thing, which is to appear in new locations where we have not been before. What will be crucial for us in 2025, however, is the expiration of the TV contract. It will be interesting to see what happens in connection with this in the next twelve months.

It’s worth mentioning here that the UFC’s current contract expires at the perfect time. After all, all other top sports leagues in the US have new long-term contracts. Therefore, if any TV station or streaming network wants to add sporting events to its schedule, the UFC is the only option for them. The UFC chief continued his statement by pointing out that the new agreement will have a huge impact on the future of the organization.

– This will have a huge impact on the way forward. We are currently working on some big things in the UFC. In addition, I am watching with interest the new talents that are coming up in the Contender Series program.

Wall Street analysts suggest that, depending on the length of the new deal, the UFC has a chance to double or even triple what it currently receives from ESPN. Expect, therefore, that the UFC chief and his superiors will be targeting sums up to a minimum of $3 billion during negotiations.

It is interesting to note that both Mark Shapiro director of the TKO Group and Dana White have said that they do not rule out a situation in which UFC galas are broken up into several channels. This would signify a similar move to what the big leagues like the NBA and NFL have already decided on.

Also involved is Netflix, to which TKO Group sold the rights to broadcast WWE RAW wrestling galas. The value of this deal was, as much as $5 billion. Undoubtedly, a similar deal would be a great success for the UFC and ensure a secure future for the organization.