The UFC’s broadcast deal with FOX ends this year, and the world’s largest Mixed Martial Arts promotion has failed to secure a renewal.
With negotiations reportedly not going well with the UFC’s longtime broadcasting partner, FOX is apparently ready to dump the UFC in favor of the WWE.
WWE programming handily out reaches that of the UFC, and they’re on the USA network.
You add Ronda Rousey into the mix, and the WWE T.V. numbers have never looked better.
Now, in his newsletter, industry insider Dave Meltzer reveals the ugly truth about where FOX stands with the UFC.
Here’s a snip:
“There is a lot of talk that UFC television negotiations are not going well. The company had hoped to have the deal done by the end of last year, and now we’re almost in April with no sign of a deal being done and the target looks like the summer for an announcement. There have been some stories along with the word on the street that UFC and FOX would likely be done. FOX made UFC an offer but now it looks like FOX is more interested in WWE, as they could get WWE for similar money and WWE would deliver higher ratings. Still, FS 1 and FS 2 have relied on UFC for a live percentage of their programming for years.”
