ESPN finalized a huge television deal with the UFC late Tuesday night.
Variety reported the following:
ESPN is doubling down on UFC, the mixed martial arts league the Disney-owned sports behemoth secured its first TV rights deal in April.
Sources familiar with negotiations say ESPN has struck a deal for a second portion to the package currently held by Fox Sports that will bring the total cost in the neighborhood of $300 million per year for five years, totaling $1.5 billion. The new deals, which cover a total of 30 fights per year, kick in early 2019.
This is a really smart move for ESPN. Its one of the smartest moves the network has made in a very long time. (SLIDESHOW: These Are The Sexiest Paige VanZant Photos On The Internet)
The UFC is a sport that is massively growing in popularity. As Ive said before, I was hardly a UFC fan at all four or five years ago. Now, Im huge into the fighting game. You can thank Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey for the skyrocketing interest in the fighting league.
This is also an unreal amount of money to think about. Youre talking about a billion-and-a-half dollars. Thats nothing to sneeze at. Hopefully, this is something that works out well for ESPN. It might send the message that were more interested in seeing sports than hearing about politics.
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