Paramount will have first dibs to grab new UFC rights deal in Canada
After signing a US$7.7-billion deal that starts in 2026, UFC is moving to CBS and Paramount+, scrapping its pay-per-view model, at least in the United States.
“Paramount doesn’t own [UFC] rights globally. [UFC] have these rights in different countries around the world,” Helwani explained. “For example, in the U.K. and Ireland, they’re on TNT Sports, but they did carve out something that now Paramount will get a 30-day exclusivity period when the deals are up around the world to be able to negotiate exclusively with the TKO brass in order to try to gobble these up all over the world.”
A Sportsnet spokesperson told Offside that there are “no changes to how fans can watch in Canada,” as it appears they will still have PPVs for the biggest fights in the sport.
It is unknown at this time whether Canadians will have access to the Paramount+ or CBS broadcasts of UFC fights, which would be a much cheaper option.
In Canada, there are three tiers to Paramount+: basic (with ads) for $6.99/month or $61.99/year, standard for $10.99/month or $97.99/year, and premium for $13.99/month or $124.99/year. CBS, meanwhile, is included in many standard cable packages.
A single UFC PPV in Canada purchased through Sportsnet is listed at $69.99, meaning you’d be spending just under $1,000 to watch all 14 of them in 2024. Meanwhile, Sportsnet carries less-important events — known as “Fight Nights” — on its linear television network, which costs $29.99 per month as of September for standalone streaming access.
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