UFC is already a hit for Paramount+.
Paramount’s flagship streaming service generated about a million new subscribers on the day of its first-ever UFC event, Paramount product chief Dane Glasgow told employees in a town hall on Tuesday morning, three staffers who attended the meeting told Business Insider.
A Paramount spokesperson said: “Those numbers are unverified, and it’s against our policy to share speculative data externally.”
In August, Paramount did a deal with UFC parent TKO that will see it pay $7.7 billion to secure UFC rights in the US for seven years.
Glasgow said at the town hall that Saturday was the second-largest day of sign-ups ever for its streamer, and that UFC 324 was the second-most-streamed sporting event on the service, according to two employees.
Notably, Paramount made its UFC matches available for anyone with a Paramount+ subscription, which starts at $8.99 a month. Before the Paramount deal, many UFC matches were only on pay-per-view for around $80 each.
Paramount previously announced that its UFC broadcast had just under 5 million average viewers for the main card. Paramount CEO David Ellison told staffers in an email that it was “the largest-ever exclusive live event for Paramount+.” The streamer has drawn larger audiences to other non-exclusive live events, including NFL games that ran on both Paramount+ and CBS.
“This record-breaking performance is, above all, a testament to the extraordinary teamwork across our entire company,” Ellison told employees in his memo, which was obtained by Business Insider.
Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
For context, Netflix’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight added about 1.4 million US subscribers to that service in November 2024, according to the subscription data firm Antenna. The firm only tracks US data.
Antenna estimated that Paramount+ reeled in an estimated 3.2 million new US customers when it hosted the Super Bowl in 2024.
Paramount+ had 79 million subscribers as of the end of September. Netflix, the market leader, said earlier this month that it had crossed 325 million subscribers.
Read Ellison’s full memo to employees below:
Team,
A huge congratulations to everyone who contributed to the success of our first UFC event on Paramount+! Several members of our leadership team and I were cageside Saturday night, and we were completely blown away by the experience and by the intensity, skill and heart on display across the card. We left the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas more excited and energized than ever about our partnership with Dana White and the entire TKO/UFC team.
I’ve heard from several executives at TKO/UFC, and they also could not be more pleased with how everything came together. It was a fantastic start to our 7-year partnership!
While we went into the weekend with high expectations, I’m thrilled to share that we exceeded them, reaching nearly 5 million streaming views — the largest-ever exclusive live event for Paramount+. And the actual audience was likely even higher, given how common co-viewing is among UFC fans.
This record-breaking performance is, above all, a testament to the extraordinary teamwork across our entire company. Every single business unit, division and team — from Paramount+, Paramount Pictures and CBS to MTV, BET, Nickelodeon and Pluto, as well as Marketing, Social, Ad Sales, Technology, Events and more — came together, rolled up their sleeves and got creative. The incredible power of Paramount One to reach the broadest possible audience was on full display companywide, and UFC 324 stands as our strongest example yet of what we can achieve when we all work together toward a common goal.
Again, hats off to everyone. With nearly 5 million streaming views and record-breaking engagement, UFC 324 set the bar high, and we can’t wait to keep the momentum going at UFC 325 next weekend in Sydney!
Let’s go!
David
