Professional Fighters League (PFL) has just extended their contracts with ESPN. The announcement comes right before the start of their new season from April 20 onwards. The new deal will see the partnership continue till the end of the upcoming season.
The promotion is unique in terms of its matchmaking format. PFL follows a tournament-based structure. Hence, it does not rely on the matchmaking format for its marquee fights. Matchmaking format is something that is very important in UFC.
PFL originally signed a deal with ESPN to broadcast their fights for the entirety of 2019 and 2020. Ariel Helwani broke the news at the time on his ESPN show back in February of 2019. However, the deal was extended to 2021 as the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
PFL has re-signed with ESPN, per a release. pic.twitter.com/Axt8yEGNVo
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 25, 2022
The deal between these two companies will continue till 2023. There is also an option for an extension. it is a great opportunity for the organisation to gain further exposure. Deal with ESPN wasn’t only lucrative for PFL in terms of money, it also lets them have access to the huge built-in audiences that come with ESPN.
Talking about the deal, PFL CEO Peter Murray said, “After two successful years of providing fans with premium MMA content alongside ESPN, PFL is proud to extend and expand our agreement, As MMA continues to evolve as a sport and rights property, our differentiated product and unique approach will help shape its path forward and in 2022 fans can expect more events, matchups between the world’s best fighters and innovative content than ever before.”
ESPN Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions, Matt Kenny also expressed his excitement for the deal. He added, “As the home of combat sports, ESPN looks forward to continuing to deliver exciting, live PFL events and powerful storytelling to fans, across all platforms.”
ESPN has the exclusive rights to both UFC and PFL
ESPN can be called the house of combat. They struck a deal with the most popular MMA promotion UFC in 2019. ESPN is highly responsible for UFC’s record-breaking revenue in 2021. The Disney owned company also has a deal with Top Rank, which has Tyson Fury under contract. Now an extension with PFL has truly made ESPN a powerhouse in the combat sports world.
From DL, Entire 2022 PFL Playoffs and majority of regular season events will air live on ESPN.
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) January 25, 2022
Agreement runs through 2023 with an option to extend. pic.twitter.com/SGHrUfTz4f
ESPN will air PFL’s league playoffs and regular seasonal events on its main channel. The channel also reserves the right to broadcast all the event-related coverages. The events will also be streamed simultaneously on ESPN+ and other secondary ESPN channels. PFL currently has stars such as Claressa Shields, Anthony Pettis and Rory MacDonald. Hence, both PFL and ESPN will hope for another successful venture.
