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ESPN Acquires Full UFC Package, Adds Broadcast Television Deal to Streaming Rights

ESPN is going all-in on the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

According to a report from Variety, ESPN has added the UFC’s television package to its deal, bring the total cost of the agreement to $1.5 billion — or approximately $300 million per year for five years.

ESPN confirmed the deal on Wednesday.

The deal will split the UFC contract between the sports cable network’s channels and its digital service, ESPN+. Per the new deal, 30 UFC events will air on various ESPN platforms beginning in 2019. That includes 10 main cards on ESPN’s television networks as well as 20 on ESPN+, which is five more than originally expected.