How ESPN’s PPV Pricing Backfired, Leading to Increased UFC Piracy

UFC pay-per-view prices have increased four times since the promotion inked its broadcast deal with ESPN in 2018. Unsurprisingly, that has led to a significant increase in piracy.

Over the last five years, the cost of a UFC pay-per-view event has jumped up from $59.99 to the current $79.99 asking price which was implemented in 2023. During a quarterly financial call on Thursday, TKO Group Holdings president Mark Shapiro acknowledged that the aggressive increase in cost over the last few years has resulted in an even higher number of pirated cards.

“ESPN and Disney were very aggressive, if you will, on pricing the pay-per-views and they have full control over that, but they have control given what they’re paying us for those rights,” Shapiro said. “Over the period of our partnership, they probably went a little quicker and a little higher than we would have liked.

“We voiced that to them, especially in this era of piracy where we’re seeing our piracy numbers really jacked up and we think that’s driven by them pricing it too high. They were very receptive to that feedback” (h/t MMA Fighting)

Shapiro also revealed that executives with TKO, including UFC CEO Dana White, had a meeting with ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro to discuss growing concerns over the current price structure and the ensuing piracy.

As a result, ESPN began offering a discounted price for those who purchase an event early versus ordering the card on fight night.

“We had a meeting in Las Vegas a few months ago with Jimmy Pitaro and Dana [White],” Shapiro said. “They took the price down, if you will, in terms of offering a new marketing promotion where if you buy by a certain date, well in advanced of the numbered fights, you are going to get a discount and then the price of course increases once you pass that date. They’re seeing good success with that.”

ESPN’s deal with the UFC expires at the end of 2025

While the promotion has seen its live-event revenues skyrocket in recent years, the same can’t be said for pay-per-view. However, the overall market for UFC PPVs appears to be settling which Shapiro suspects could lead to increased revenue in the future.

“Like audiences in the live events where we’re selling out and breaking records and you see it all in the press release, and like the yield that we’re commanding, which in many cases specifically with WWE have been higher than we even planned for, we’re also sustaining our buys when it comes to pay-per-view,” Shapiro said. “So we feel really good about that.”

ESPN and the UFC are expected to go to the negotiating table soon as their current broadcast deal expires at the end of 2025. With the promotion’s business buddy World Wrestling Entertainment making the move to Netflix next year, we could potentially see the UFC follow suit and go exclusively to streaming.