UFC-Disney Rights: Endeavor President Mark Shapiro Says Renewal Talks Could Start Soon; Amazon And Apple In The Mix, But Company Doesn’t Plan To Be Netflix’s Sports “Guinea Pig”
deadline.comThe extensive ties between UFC parent Endeavor Group Holdings and Disney mean the media company is likely to be “open to a renewal conversation sooner rather than later,” in the assessment of Endeavor president Mark Shapiro.
Disney and the UFC signed a five-year rights deal worth a reported $1.5 billion. The pact took effect in 2019, meaning it is due to expire in a little more than a year.
Sports rights in general have continued to surge in the intervening years, and the UFC’s popularity continues Speaking at a conference hosted by Wall Street firm RBC Capital Markets, Shapiro noted the many ties between Endeavor, which also owns talent agency WME, and Disney.
Those connections provide “a significant amount of leverage,” he said, and make Endeavor “stickier” than other business partners. “When you have that much business, you have a lot of pressure points,” Shapiro said. “They want to do Jungle Cruise 2 with The Rock,” the exec said by way of example. “I’m not saying we’ll hold it up because we won’t get some other deal,” he said, but the fact that there are multiple touchpoints enhances the chance of a favorable outcome.
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