Endeavor CEO Mark Shapiro was interviewed on Andrew Marchand’s debut podcast last week and part of the discussion focused on the upcoming media rights deal for the UFC. The UFC will be entering the last year of its deal with Disney and he indicated that many are interested.
Shapiro indicated that the UFC rights were at an “inflection point” to see what the market will bear.
Shapiro stated that there is “no shortage of demand of platforms” that have “casually mentioned” their interest in the upcoming UFC media rights deal. The UFC and Disney have had a good relationship throughout its media deal. The UFC was the biggest property on ESPN’s digital platform for some time and was a big aid throughout the pandemic with its shows.
“Dana White is the best brand in sports,” said Shapiro of White. He also touted the UFC brand as one that is grabbing interests of advertisers. He indicated that cities are paying “big sums” for the UFC to come to their city not just for PPV events but Fight Nights too.
Based on the interview its clear that Shaprio loves what Dana White is doing and likes how he is running the company. Its worthy to note that he singled out White from the UFC brand. One might infer that Shapiro likes the brashness and outspokenness of White and his willingness to get deals done.
Shapiro went on in the interview to say that Endeavor has a good relationship with Disney however its clear that they will look for the best deal and he seemed open to a variety of scenarios which includes splitting up the rights to multiple buyers.
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