UFC Chose Paramount+ in Part Because of ‘South Park’

The sports landscape shifted last month when Paramount+ outbid ESPN for the next 7 years of UFC rights. Even better for MMA fans, Paramount is eliminating pay-per-view for premium events. They’ll all be included with your subscription.

But why did UFC walk away from their longtime broadcast partner in ESPN?

Today, TKO Group President and COO Mark Shapiro shared his thoughts at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference. He says part of the reason was the other content in the Paramount portfolio.

“You just want to make sure your neighbors are strong. So we’re happy we have those neighbors,” Shapiro said. “We like to see the fact that they’re investing in ‘South Park’ as an example. You know, they’re buying new series and they’re getting behind new movies and sports. So all in all, it’s just a really good place to be.”

UFC’s young male audience is a definite match for the humor of “South Park.” Fans of Taylor Sheridan’s macho “dad-coded” shows like “Tulsa King,” “Landman,” and the “Yellowstone” spinoffs may also enjoy getting into UFC. Add that to Paramount’s majority-male audience of sports fans and you can see why UFC thought Paramount was a better fit than ESPN and Disney’s family-friendly brand.

UFC is bettting that having fight nights on CBS will solidify their brand with an even broader audience.

“CBS has so much sports tradition, so much sports history, so much sports lineage,” Shapiro said. “Even now, their properties from The Masters to the Final Four, UEFA, the NFL – they’re not going to slow down and frankly, everything (Paramount Skydance CEO) David (Ellison) says is sports is first for them. So that’s a good place to be.”

“(Paramount will) use CBS as a ‘barker’ channel to not just retain subscribers of Paramount+, but really grow the Paramount+ subscriber base, which is which is huge for us,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro also shared why Paramount+ was eager to pay far more than what their competitors offered.

“They wanted something that was year ’round. They wanted an antidote to churn, and they wanted something that was global because they’re chasing global (subscriptions) and we fit the bill,” Shapiro said.