The UFC formally debuts on Paramount+ in January 2026 and with that costs for the streaming service are about to extend.
On Monday as a part of a letter despatched to traders, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison revealed plans for a value hike coming within the first quarter of 2026, though the precise quantity has not been disclosed but. Paramount+ at present prices $7.99 per 30 days or $59.99 per yr for the important plan with advertisements or $12.99 per 30 days or $119.99 per yr for the premium plan with no advertisements outdoors of dwell tv choices.
“Our ongoing investments in Paramount+ are enhancing the worth we ship to customers,” Ellison mentioned within the letter. “To help this continued funding, we plan to implement value will increase within the U.S. early within the first quarter of 2026, and we lately introduced upcoming value changes in Canada and Australia.
“These modifications will gas continued reinvestment within the consumer expertise and ship a good stronger slate of programming for our clients within the yr forward and past.”
The UFC inked an enormous $7.7 billion deal over seven years to maneuver the corporate’s whole programming slate to Paramount beginning in 2026 after the present take care of ESPN expires. As a part of the brand new deal, all UFC occasions — together with the numbered pay-per-view occasions — are going to air completely on Paramount+ at no extra value outdoors of the worth paid for a subscription.
“By eradicating the secondary pay-per-view paywall – traditionally a key barrier for UFC followers – we’re making these premium occasions out there to each Paramount+ subscriber at no extra value,” Ellison mentioned. “We’re excited to ship this distinctive worth with the price of an annual subscription to Paramount+ being lower than only one UFC pay-per-view occasion below prior distribution.
“We’re assured that higher accessibility will result in important incremental subscriber development and higher engagement throughout our platform, creating long-term worth for each us and the UFC.”
Throughout an earnings funding name, Paramount executives additionally highlighted the UFC working as a yr spherical sport with no off season, which makes it a really engaging sports activities property to forestall churn with subscribers.
It was famous in the course of the name that after the Masters golf event concluded and the NFL season began that Paramount+ skilled a lack of subscribers. The hope is that the UFC retains subscribers on board for your entire yr as a result of there isn’t any down time for the promotion on a month to month foundation.
Along with the UFC deal, Paramount additionally added Zuffa Boxing to its lineup beginning in 2026 as the brand new promotion headed up by UFC CEO Dana White and WWE president Nick Khan — with funding supplied by Saudi Arabia — prepares for a mess of occasions annually.
“We couldn’t be extra enthusiastic about our partnership with TKO, Dana White and UFC and look, I’d additionally loop into that Zuffa Boxing,” Ellison mentioned in the course of the name. “These two offers clearly makes Paramount+ actually the house for fight sports activities. Clearly in america and we even have rights in Latin America and Australia. If you additionally have a look at the UFC, it’s the largest sport that’s not mainly cut up off throughout a number of platforms. It truly is a unicorn sports activities property. We predict it’s going to drive an incredible quantity of worth by way of each subscriber development and engagement throughout Paramount+ in addition to CBS the place there might be some facet of the UFC that additionally lives on CBS.
“Along with that, when you consider UFC and the chance there, there’s 100 million followers within the U.S. alone. It’s grown 25 % since 2019 to at present and it’s been doing all of that behind a double paywall in its earlier dwelling. So from that standpoint, we predict once you get rid of the double paywall, it’s going to turn out to be rather more accessible and we predict that the expansion charge will improve. Moreover to that, we predict we’re providing by way of our subscribers at Paramount+ actually important worth in the truth that for about one pay-per-view, you mainly can entry all the UFC throughout Paramount+. From that standpoint, we predict it’s an awesome worth for customers.”
Ever since finishing a merger to take over Paramount and mix the corporate with Skydance, Ellison has repeatedly pointed as content material as king on the subject of future funding.
Along with offers with the UFC and Zuffa Boxing on the sports activities facet, Paramount additionally inked large offers with the creators behind South Park in addition to Matt and Ross Duffer, who created the hit Netflix collection Stranger Issues.
“We have to clearly put money into extra content material,” Ellison mentioned. “Having an asset just like the UFC goes to extend engagement on platform, it’s going to drive subscribers and we’re feeling extremely assured within the funding that we simply made.”
