rumored deal

I agree fs1 just bought bowling :smashfrea they need content. But Ive been thinking that the UFC wanted 400 million for there tv deal I believe they only got 300 million (don't quote me). What if Zuffa decided to be Haymons promoter for his fox/fs1 fighters. Sorta like the NWA model but for networks instead of locations. Also You were on to something with the Mayweather Promotions theory. What if promoters will be used as ways to get fighters to choose tough competition. Also they could find ways to force fighters to go for the knockout. remember Mayweather publicly said he told haymon about paying fighters so much and them not fighting the best. Also Zuffa could be trying to push out top rank from ESPN after all ESPN was more interested in their Library than their actual fights. With Zuffa already moving it's entire content package to ESPN/ESPN+, and Fox Sports already having a good relationship with Haymon that seems to be on solid ground, it doesn't make much sense to pay Zuffa when they can get the direct deal with Haymon, imo anyway. UFC doesn't have the juice to push Top Rank out of the picture, but it's clear as day that ESPN isn't going to simply stand by for Arum's bull****. Golden Boy is gone when their time buy is up though

Just throwing some things out their btw

WWE SmackDown is set to be featured on Friday nights on FOX, with WWE Raw set for USA Network for another 4-5 years. How they settle the local news issue is still there's to figure out, but we now know for sure that FS1 is left needing a ton of content, and none of that will be filled by UFC. Thursday Night Football during the NFL season on FOX, Friday Night SmackDown on FOX, Big 12/Pac12 Football on Saturday on FOX/FS1, and the NFL on Sunday on FOX. With Ortiz-Rios already set for FOX in August, it seems quite likely that we here about the deal for 2019 and beyond in relatively short order I agree fs1 just bought bowling :smashfrea they need content. But Ive been thinking that the UFC wanted 400 million for there tv deal I believe they only got 300 million (don't quote me). What if Zuffa decided to be Haymons promoter for his fox/fs1 fighters. Sorta like the NWA model but for networks instead of locations. Also You were on to something with the Mayweather Promotions theory. What if promoters will be used as ways to get fighters to choose tough competition. Also they could find ways to force fighters to go for the knockout. remember Mayweather publicly said he told haymon about paying fighters so much and them not fighting the best. Also Zuffa could be trying to push out top rank from ESPN after all ESPN was more interested in their Library than their actual fights.

It's been confirmed WWE SmackDown is set to be featured on Friday nights on FOX, with WWE Raw set for USA Network for another 4-5 years. How they settle the local news issue is still there's to figure out, but we now know for sure that FS1 is left needing a ton of content, and none of that will be filled by UFC. Thursday Night Football during the NFL season on FOX, Friday Night SmackDown on FOX, Big 12/Pac12 Football on Saturday on FOX/FS1, and the NFL on Sunday on FOX. With Ortiz-Rios already set for FOX in August, it seems quite likely that we here about the deal for 2019 and beyond in relatively short order

https://www.afr.com/business/sport/payperview-the-battle-between-boxing-and-ufc-20180531-h10tg4

I think you're reaching. Cowherd, if he's shown anything, is that he's a company man. He can feel how he feels, but never shown to be the type of guy to try and draw outrage at the expense of who's writing the check. The UFC's whole animus, since Dana and the Fertita brothers got involved anyway, has been "boxing is ****". Fox got involved with the UFC, seeing what Dana's done, and seemed cool with it. Bosses not having a problem left Cowherd free to say what he wanted. Fox Sports will no longer be in the UFC business come 2019. With FOX being in business with the WWE and in all likelihood with PBC, the directives from the top will change. That's actually my point. Colin is being given instructions to continuously bring up boxing. Even if he only briefly mentions them inside of a segment or two.

If anyone in this thread watches fs1 you have to notice all of the subliminals these commentators are dropping. their always using boxing analogies but yesterday colin cowherd had a column about athletes being paid more and wanting less this was slapshot at the pbc. I think you're reaching. Cowherd, if he's shown anything, is that he's a company man. He can feel how he feels, but never shown to be the type of guy to try and draw outrage at the expense of who's writing the check. The UFC's whole animus, since Dana and the Fertita brothers got involved anyway, has been "boxing is ****". Fox got involved with the UFC, seeing what Dana's done, and seemed cool with it. Bosses not having a problem left Cowherd free to say what he wanted. Fox Sports will no longer be in the UFC business come 2019. With FOX being in business with the WWE and in all likelihood with PBC, the directives from the top will change.

Hypothetically If this deal were to go through how does the PBC compete with ESPN's Top rank. If we are talking visually Top rank has done a better production job add on ESPN as a backer to their programs and you have a full network being the promoter. My point is now we have a competition between top rank (possibly working with UFC) vs PBC? who you got and how Top Rank won't be able to compete because anything that they come up with worth anything will likely end up on PPV or ESPN+ anyway. As nice as the camera presentation looks, pulling Teddy Atlas from the broadcast and replacing him alongside Joe Tessitore (a legit broadcaster) with two cheerleaders for Top Rank Boxing isn't going to where well. The PBC presentation is what it is, but they've seemed to settle in on a formula that works well; two-man team for the FS1 shows of Ray Flores and Robert Guerrero (Ray also ring announcing the fights is still weird, but whatever), two-man team for the BounceTV shows of Gus Johnson and Austin Trout, and a three-man team for the FOX shows of Sean Grande (Fox Sports' choice), Virgil Hunter (or another well-spoken veteran trainer like Robert Garcia or Barry Hunter), and a fighter (PBC has a nice crop of fighters who are good and aware behind the mic). Fair and engaged announcing, calling competitive fights wins the day, imo.

Trust me right now foxes gripe with PBC is fighters not wanting to fight each other because they're getting paid to much.

you all might think im reaching but im not. Before fox got into the market colin cowherd had dragged the wwe. He loathed it even called it a show for "booger eaters" its documented. When Fox got in the market for wwe all of a sudden its a good he starts talking positive about the wwe.

FOX and ESPN to partner on content deal for UFC: -UFC PPV count goes from 12 events to 6 events. -ESPN airs 15 UFC events on ESPN+ -FOX/FS1 continues with less UFC (How much less is unsure) No update on the movement of the WWE deal, but if WWE/USA happens and gets settled, it clears the path for the 2nd generation PBC deal to happen on FOX/FS1 (the same 4 FOX dates, with the FS1 calendar expanding by however many dates that UFC shifts to ESPN, except now all paid for). If anyone in this thread watches fs1 you have to notice all of the subliminals these commentators are dropping. their always using boxing analogies but yesterday colin cowherd had a column about athletes being paid more and wanting less this was slapshot at the pbc.

Hypothetically If this deal were to go through how does the PBC compete with ESPN's Top rank. If we are talking visually Top rank has done a better production job add on ESPN as a backer to their programs and you have a full network being the promoter. My point is now we have a competition between top rank (possibly working with UFC) vs PBC? who you got and how

cool, i;m really sick of flipping through networks to find fight I want. UFC and boxing. I feel likle HBO and SHO do a **** job of scheduling as well because they are not "sports" network. at least ESPN's fights will start when they say, and air when they say.

Variety reporting FOX is leaving the UFC business next year....so there will definitely be openings in their schedule next year. wwcd. Still need to see what happens with the rest of the WWE deal (specifically if NBCUniversal keeps Raw on USA Network, and if SmackDown is confirmed for Friday nights on FOX), but there's now a massive content hole on Fox Sports, and Haymon is sitting there with more than enough content (beyond the premium content marked for Showtime/CBS) to fill the void. PBC on FOX/FS1 - 4 primetime dates on FOX, as many dates on FS1 as Haymon can deliver (20-30 shows isn't outlandish), and more shoulder programming (PBC Jabs w/Jordan Hardy is a cool little follow-up/recap show on YouTube that can easily fill 30 minutes on FS1, as an example). It's a turtle race, but the end is starting to come clear

Thanks for the info. Something like 52 episodes of SmackDown a year going for $200m (~$4m per episodes, less costs WWE still has to pay to produce the content), and UFC having a stalking horse offer of $175m per year (for less shows than the original package due to ESPN+ getting it's 15 shows) makes things that more likely that the deal is on the works, quietly along Variety reporting FOX is leaving the UFC business next year....so there will definitely be openings in their schedule next year.

http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/espn-adds-30-fights-to-ufc-tv-rights-deal-reaching-1-5-billion-value-exclusive-1202819447/ ESPN Adds Fights to UFC TV Rights Deal, Reaching $1.5 Billion Value (EXCLUSIVE) Sources familiar with negotiations say ESPN has struck a deal for a second portion to the package currently held by Fox Sports that will bring the total cost in the neighborhood of $300 million per year for five years, totaling $1.5 billion. The new deals, which cover a total of 30 fights per year, kick in early 2019. Fox is exiting the UFC business after spending well north of $1 billion on a new WWE deal. After nabbing a different set of TV rights from UFC in April for a five-year deal worth $750 million, the second pact will deliver an additional 30 fights to Disney. UFC will still pay-per-view and its Fight Pass streaming service. UFC, which was acquired by Endeavor for a hefty $4.4 billion, isn’t getting as much per year as it had sought for these rights. It’s a reflection of declining TV ratings on Fox Sports for UFC, which has struggled to keep its momentum going despite the absence of the caliber of star fighters that propelled the league to its peak just a few years ago.

Fox and WWE Close to Massive Five-Year, $1 Billion Deal for 'SmackDown' https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-wwe-close-massive-five-year-1-billion-deal-smackdown-1113701?utm_source=twitter&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral Thanks for the info. Something like 52 episodes of SmackDown a year going for $200m (~$4m per episodes, less costs WWE still has to pay to produce the content), and UFC having a stalking horse offer of $175m per year (for less shows than the original package due to ESPN+ getting it's 15 shows) makes things that more likely that the deal is on the works, quietly along

Fox just bought smackdown for 205 million dollars for five years. Interesting note moving smackdown to Friday nights instead of keeping in on Tuesday. Maybe making room for PBC's toe to toe Tuesdays? Need to see more about the deal, but at that price tag, it'd seem like the deal is set to have SmackDown on FOX, settling their Friday night issues for the foreseeable future (read that Fox also might take a shot at rebooting Tim Allen's 'Last Man Standing', but they can almost put that anywhere). Still curious to see what the second half of the UFC's deal ends up looking like; with the WWE basically getting $400m for the rights to their programming, the UFC number will confirm the desire still in the marketplace for sports-related content, with the number well beyond the $100m per year that the UFC got on their initial deal. Sit tight

Fox and WWE Close to Massive Five-Year, $1 Billion Deal for 'SmackDown' https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-wwe-close-massive-five-year-1-billion-deal-smackdown-1113701?utm_source=twitter&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral The new deal, which is nearing completion and is worth $205 million annually, is expected to begin in October 2019, and will mark a three-fold increase over what NBCUniversal is currently paying WWE to air SmackDown on its USA network. WWE is said to have had an even higher bid from a third party - and enthusiastic interest overall. But WWE executives are said to have embraced Fox's commitment to heavily promote SmackDown across a robust sports portfolio that includes the NFL and Major League Baseball. It’s unclear what effect if any, the WWE deal will have on Fox Sports’ calculation in renewing its UFC rights package, which expires at the end of the year. The Endeavor-owned promotion recently finalized a $750 million deal with ESPN+, the Disney-owned sports giants’ still nascent OTT service. And sources close to that deal have told THR that Fox is willing to pay about $175 million annually for the MMA promotion.

A lot of moving parts still, tbh. Still, PBC has shown enough over the last three years to be a viable sports property (even with Showtime/CBS getting the premium fights); only question is where things end up Fox just bought smackdown for 205 million dollars for five years. Interesting note moving smackdown to Friday nights instead of keeping in on Tuesday. Maybe making room for PBC's toe to toe Tuesdays?