ESPN+ loses 700,000 subscribers amid exclusive negotiations for new UFC deal

The ESPN+ platform ended 2024 with a loss of 700,000 subscribers, the data revealed during an exclusive window to negotiate a new TV deal with the UFC.

Streaming platform ESPN+ is having quite a problem listing growth over time. The alarming figures of losing, as many as 700,000 subscribers were released to the public at the start of an exclusive window during which ESPN has exclusive rights to negotiate a new deal with the UFC.

Both Dana White and Hunter Campbell have repeatedly said they are happy with the partnership with ESPN however, they have mentioned that there may be a split of the TV rights between the two entities or there will be a move to another major streaming service.

ESPN has so far paid the UFC about $450 million a year for exclusive broadcast rights to all events on its ESPN+ platform and on its own TV channels. Now Dana White and company expect the amounts from broadcast rights sales to definitely skyrocket to more than $1 billion a year.

The number of ESPN+ subscribers has been hovering around 25 million for quite some time. This is not too much especially when you consider that streaming services that are not very popular in Poland and the world, such as Peacock or Hulu, have a much larger user base. Peacock currently has 36 million of them, while Hulu, as many as 52 million.

ESPN+ can therefore only dream of the number of subscribers that the US top 5, which include.

1. Netflix – 301 million
2. Amazon Prime – 200 million
3. Disney+ – 122 million
4. HBO MAX – 100 million
5. Paramount+ – 72 million

It is therefore possible that the UFC office will have a tough nut to crack in the coming months. The exclusive negotiating window with ESPN ends on April 15, 2025, after which UFC representatives will be free to negotiate with other streaming services.

Money is one thing, but a further desire to popularize the sport and access to a wider range of potential fans may also come into play. Here, of course, Netflix leads the way, with a massive subscriber base of more than 300 million. TKO Group, the company that owns the UFC, has a good relationship with Netflix, as it is on this platform that WWE events have been broadcast since the new year.

Not at a loss, however, are Amazon, Disney+ or MAX, which very often have so-called ‘bundles’ on offer, which allow you to combine several subscriptions in one app at a significant discount. Of course, in such a case this also goes along with bundling the number of subscribers, which can rival that of Netflix.