ESPN+ subscriptions now cost over 240 percent more than they did when the UFC joined ESPN in 2018.
ESPN+ users will have to shell out a few extra bucks if they want to keep their subscriptions come October.
Disney announced Tuesday its plans to increase the ESPN+ monthly subscription from $10.99 to $11.99. The change will go into effect in mid-October.
The approximate nine percent price hike will affect UFC viewers – at least for a year. The promotion enters the final year of its current broadcast deal with ESPN in 2025.
When the UFC first signed with ESPN in 2018, the ESPN+ price was initially $4.99. In 2021, it was raised to $6.99. In mid-2022, the price increased 43 percent to $9.99. In October 2023, it was bumped one dollar to $10.99.
The monthly subscription prices do not include pay-per-view events.
UFC CEO Dana White has not yet shown his hand as to how the promotion and parent company Endeavor plan to handle the upcoming broadcast partner search, though he recently revealed the UFC could land on multiple broadcast platforms, much like the NFL and NBA.
“It’s interesting. Sports rights are through the roof right now,” White said recently. “I have this philosophy. When I grew up, you had Channel 3, Channel 5, Channel 8, and Channel 13. I think that’s going to be the same globally over the next several years, and you don’t know who the players are going to be, who are going to be the majors. Will it be Disney? Will it be YouTube? Will it be Amazon? Who knows.”
