>if that was a better way to make money i have to think they
>would already be doing it
>
>theyve spent 20+ years analyzing how to leverage their brand
>for dollars. they could have been upcharging their own PPVs
>for years on their own streaming platform, but didnt. getting
>people to prepay for 3 high level PPVs a year and then selling
>commercial time on them anyways is probably their lane until
>they have indicators that people wont revolt from spending
>more money.
>
>UFC and WWE differ in that UFC is not a money maker on
>television. UFC earns nothing from cable TV, while WWE hasnt
>truly sold a PPV on a widespread basis in years. Both
>companies made about 1.3B last year. Im not sure they can
>both do business the same way.


You are dead wrong about the money the UFC earns from TV, at least from TV rights in the US. ESPN pays the UFC a grip of money for their TV partnership. Since 2018, the UFC entered a TV deal with ESPN for 1.5 billion dollars for five years of TV rights. I don't know how much you follow MMA, but the UFC was the first professional sports league to return to action around the time COVID fairly active in 2020; the ESPN TV deal was a main reason why. UFC has to air I believe 30 events on ESPN to get their annual payout. The TV deal is a main reason why despite the fact they don't have a PPV cash cow, they haven't been hurting for money. For better or for worse, I have to imagine having to pay the annual ESPN+ fees ON TOP of the fees for each UFC PPV stops a ton of folks from paying for individual PPV; the guaranteed TV revenue alleviates a ton of demand the old UFC model had for PPV sales since the prior TV deals weren't as lucrative.

Keep in mind that only covers the US. I know the UFC partners with a company named BT Sports in England, but I have no clue what arrangement they have.

Getting back to my original post, I wonder if Endeavor will try to get more money elsewhere for a US-based TV deal. I dunno how successful they will be trying to strike out on their own, but I could easily be wrong because I have to imagine they have a gameplan to stream both WWE and the UFC as a package.