Paramount+ has secured the U.S. media rights to UFC for the 2026–2032 period, in a deal reportedly worth $7.7 billion.
The platform’s first UFC event, streamed on January 24, 2025, generated an estimated 1.2 million new sign-ups over the weekend.
Comparable NFL marquee events, such as the AFC Championship, typically drive around 400,000 new subscriptions. As a result, approximately 800,000 additional sign-ups are estimated to have been driven directly by the UFC event. The weekend marked Paramount+’s largest subscriber surge since the Super Bowl in February 2024.
The spike helped offset increased churn following the January 15 price rise. 44% of weekend sign-ups came from first-time subscribers, compared with a monthly average of 29%. Paramount+’s existing subscriber base skews female (58%), while 75% of UFC fans are male.
UFC therefore serves as a strategic tool to rebalance the platform’s audience demographics. 33% of new subscribers signed up directly through Paramount+, significantly higher than the usual 18%.
Direct subscribers generate higher revenue per user than those acquired via third-party platforms. While UFC’s overall fan base is smaller than that of some major leagues, 63% of its fans are willing to pay for access.
Among U.S. sports fans, UFC ranks sixth in terms of the single event they are most willing to pay for, behind the NFL, NBA, MLB, FIFA Men’s World Cup, and WWE.
The removal of pay-per-view barriers and lower-cost access via Paramount+ is expected to support strong short-term retention.
Over the longer term, Paramount+ aims to convert UFC viewers into broader platform subscribers by engaging them with its wider content slate.
