UFC ends pay-per-view, moves all events to Paramount streaming

UFC officials announced a landmark broadcast agreement with Paramount Skydance that will reshape how the sport is consumed and how its economics are structured. Beginning in 2026, all UFC events will stream under a Paramount-based model, with no pay-per-view. The deal, worth about $1.1 billion annually over seven years (roughly $7.7 billion in total), converts 43 events a year—13 numbered cards and 30 Fight Nights—into subscriber-access content, with some major cards also airing on CBS’s free-to-air network. In practical terms, fans will not pay extra per fight; access will be provided through a Paramount subscription.

The arrangement marks a decisive turn away from a long-standing pay-per-view framework that has underpinned UFC’s revenue and has been a central battleground in its negotiations with fighters. The company emphasized that the shift is driven by a broader aim to expand the sport’s audience and deepen ongoing distribution opportunities across platforms. It also means a potential rebalancing of leverage in contract talks, both within UFC and in the wider combat-sports ecosystem, as fans’ access becomes more predictable and tied to a single, bundled platform.