MMA Fighting reports that Showtime is interested in jumping back into partnership with the UFC once the company’s current rights fee is up.
In an interview last week with MMA Fighting, Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza stated that it would reach out to the UFC about being one of its broadcast partners. Of course, since its likely that the UFC will have events on multiple platforms and multiple networks, Showtime’s concern would be what level of events it would receive for the network.
And, of course, how much it would need to pay.
Showtime worked with Zuffa in brokering a deal for the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight last month. It appeared that there the working relationship went fairly well as the two sides were able to put together the deal in a relatively short time span. Compare that to the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight in May 2015 which seemed to have taken several years to put together.
Payout Perspective:
There are obvious details that would have to be hammered out aside from the financials. Dana White had issues with Showtime and its production of Strikeforce once Zuffa took over. Whether or not White has softened his stance on Showtime based on his dealings with The Money Fight is yet to be seen. Of course, with the new ownership, we can see if WME-IMG is willing to work with Showtime. Then again, this upcoming rights deal will be something the company expects to be lucrative and whether Showtime is willing to pay for it is something to be seen. I would expect other bidders competing including Fox (which ended or is at the end of an exclusive negotiating window), Turner Sports, NBC Universal and Amazon.
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