NEW: Disney will raise the price of ESPN+ to
$9.99 a month starting in August https://t.co/9EjcZ2E2DL— Bloomberg (@business)
July 15, 2022
The high cost of being a fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championship is about to grow
even higher.
Per
Bloomberg on Friday, ESPN is set to raise the monthly rates of
its ESPN+ streaming service again. In September 2021, the price
bumped up to $6.99 a month. This next change, which will go into
effect on Aug. 23, will result in a significant 43% spike in the
cost, as it will move to $9.99 every month. No new content will
reportedly be added, and pay-per-view rates for UFC cards are not
expected to rise beyond the $74.99 they are now. The Disney-owned
organization is not, however, increasing the cost of its
proprietary bundle of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu for $13.99/month.
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It will now cost U.S.-based fight fans over $1,000 per year if they
subscribe to ESPN+ and order the traditional 12 pay-per-view shows
that year. This does not take into account any bundles the fans
might use, and it is unclear if ESPN will package PPVs with
additional six-month ESPN+ subscriptions at a discounted rate. It
also does not factor in taxes. A fight fan cannot order a UFC
pay-per-view in the United States unless they have a subscription
to ESPN+. In 2019, Sherdog reviewed the cost of watching the UFC vs.
many other sporting events, and the cost at that time already had
exceeded the price of watching the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL
combined.
UFC head Dana White spoke of the rising cost of pay-per-views and
monthly subscriptions in January to
MMA Junkie, where he admitted he was not thrilled in ESPN’s
decision to increase the costs.
“We don’t have any say in that,” White stated at the time,
remarking that the UFC relinquished control of prices when signing
the broadcast deal with ESPN. “We gave the pay-per-views to ESPN,
so yeah, that’s their decision. You know how I feel about that
stuff. I don’t love when prices get raised, but it’s not my
decision. It’s theirs.”
ESPN signed the broadcast agreement with the UFC in 2019, in a
five-year deal for $1.5 billion. The UFC would be responsible
for airing 30 UFC Fight Night cards every year, with 10 of those
airing on the flagship ESPN networks and the remainder on ESPN+. In
signing, it also gained Dana White’s Contender Series, “The Ultimate
Fighter” and any preliminary fights for the PPVs. Additionally, the
Professional Fighters League stages its
tournament at least partially on ESPN+, with some events simulcast
on ESPN or ESPN2.