When you wondered how the new CBS owners felt about the sports company, you didn’t have to wait long to find out.
On Monday afternoon, Paramount announced that it had acquired the rights to the UFC in a seven -year agreement of $ 7.7 billion, access to one of America’s fastest growing and youngest sports demographic data after a successful run on ESPN in a considerable opening Salvo for the new ownership of the company.
The announcement was Paramount’s first major strategic decision since he was taken over by David Ellison, the son of the second richest man in the world, Larry Ellison, last week. Ellison has said that his goal is to modernize the Paramount Business on all its platforms, including CBS, Paramount Plus, and the wider Paramount TV and film companies.
The UFC deal gives Paramount more than just a spectacular acquisition among new ownership – it offers a new pillar for a streaming company that is expected to take on an important focus under the steward of Ellison. According to the New York TimesThe majority of the UFC deal is broadcast on Paramount Plus, while CBS will cover some tent events. As part of the agreement, the UFC will be available for free for Subscribers from Paramount Plus, with a termination of a pay-per-view setup that had become commonplace under the earlier media rights agreement of the competition with ESPN.
More than any piece of information, the announcement of Monday suggests that Sport will play a significant role in Ellison’s vision. When the UFC is acquired, Ellison makes the bet that sports capacity can be a “canal” to the growth of the subscribers in subscriber, so that rabbit fans are encouraged to pay for one of the two streaming layers of Paramount, an advertisement-supported version of $ 8 per month or an ad-free version of $ 13. Paramount Plus and to stay there, either to view more sports content or out of interest in the larger package of the platform with shows and films. In addition to the UFC, the excellent CBS similarities with the NFL, NCAA, PGA Tour, Masters and PGA from America offer access to millions of potential streaming customers, although most of those similarities currently do not offer streaming-exclusive options.
The strategy is a new twist on an old approach, replicating the success of cable providers in seducing sports fans to pay for cable “bundles” with access to hundreds of channels in exchange for access to sports programming that they mainly wanted. In the past two years, Peacock has seen a significant profit from subscribers with the help of this strategy, whereby only streaming coverage of the NFL and Olympic Games that help stimulate large numbers.
For Golffans, the UFC deal should attach to a few fronts. It is largely tacit worries about the role that CBS Sports will play in the future of the new Paramount. If Ellison’s first $ 7.7 billion issued if Chief Executive tells us something, it is that the established brand strength of CBS in Sport – including Golf – is seen internally as a substantial negotiating ship. Although streaming can probably be able to take a greater role in the form of CBS Sports that is progressing, that news probably does not come as a surprise for anyone who has witnessed Golf’s own success on digital-first platforms such as YouTube.
The latest news comes in a summer of change for the sports streaming company. In addition to the new investment of Paramount, ESPN is less than 10 days away from launching his Largest product development in yearsA direct-to-consumer platform that will offer viewers access to all its over-the-air content for $ 30 per month. In the meantime, NBC announced on Tuesday morning First slate of NBA -Games For the autumn months, some of which are only broadcast on Peacock.
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