The Sports Business Journal reports that the PFL’s exclusive negotiating window with ESPN has ended and the promotion is exploring other options.
The organization is open to M&A opportunities to try to gain marketshare. PFL told SBJ that it is seeing “very broad and very intense interest” in its product. PFL’s found & Chair Donn Davis also stated that the media value is going to up “substantially” this round. It is not clear that ESPN is paying a rights fee for PFL but one might infer from the article that it will garner one in this round.
Davis noted that PFL could be segmented into its regular season, its challenger series and its new international leagues.
Although Davis did not specifically address rumors that PFL wants to merge with Bellator he said the PFL will be “very aggressive” when it comes to acquiring fighters.
Payout Perspective:
With the media deal for the UFC up in 2025, the PFL is in an interesting position. ESPN will certainly retain one or the other but maybe not both. If the PFL intends to expand its growth in talent, it will be looking for a big dollar media deal. Does talent acquisition mean purchasing Bellator? Davis, as you may have expected, is bullish on the MMA-space and that media companies will pay for the young demo it attracts. Based on the comments by Davis and its signings of Jake Paul and Francis Ngannou, you might expect PFL to make a big move sometime this year.
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