Deal Done: ESPN+ to be exclusive home of UFC PPV events in the U.S.; Fans Not Happy

UFC fans are not happy with the recent announcement made by the UFC on Monday. The UFC president Dana White revealed that UFC has signed a new deal with ESPN extending their contract with 2 more years until 2025.

As per the agreement, ESPN+ is the exclusive distributor of UFC events and fans in the US will have to buy the UFC's PPV events through ESPN+. The subscription to ESPN+ charger $4.99 a month. The deal will start with UFC 236 on April 13 that features the lightweight championship bout between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier.

ESPN signed a 5-year deal worth $1.5 million last year with UFC which nabbed the TV rights from Fox Sports. Though the details about the recent deal is not revealed, analysts estimate that ESPN+ will cost Disney from $200 million to $500 million in its first year.

More details about the Deal:

• New ESPN+ subscribers will be charged $79.99 for a yearlong subscription that includes one pay-per-view event while the current ESPN+ subscribers will be able to buy pay-per-views for $59.99 each.
• The ESPN+ base subscription package is $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. ESPN+ will be the home for 20 UFC “Fight Night” events in 2018.
• According to a news release, additional packaging options may become available in the future.

Fans seem quite unhappy with the announcement. Here are some of the Twitter Reactions: