- Paramount+ will be Zuffa Boxing’s exclusive media-rights home in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America starting January 2026 under a long-term deal with TKO Group and Sela.
- Year 1 will feature at least 12 boxing cards, with plans to expand frequency and air select events on CBS or other Paramount platforms.
- Zuffa Boxing is led by Dana White, Nick Khan, Turki Alalshikh, and Sela’s Rakan Alharthy and aims to streamline boxing with fewer divisions plus in-house belts and rankings.
- Financial terms are undisclosed and the reported five-year length is unconfirmed, but the deal further deepens Paramount’s combat-sports push alongside its $7.7B seven-year UFC rights package.
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The announcement that Zuffa Boxing is signing an exclusive streaming and media rights deal with Paramount+ marks a strategic extension of TKO’s expanding portfolio and Paramount’s commitment to live sports as a growth driver in the streaming era. The agreement builds upon an earlier major rights contract: Paramount secured a $7.7 billion deal covering UFC events starting in 2026, including all marquee and fight night cards in the U.S.. Adding boxing under the Zuffa brand enables Paramount to consolidate TKO’s key combat-sports assets, potentially locking in cross-promotional synergies, subscriber retention benefits, and broader content hooks for sports fans.
Despite being labeled “long-term,” several elements of the Zuffa deal remain undisclosed: specifically, the financial terms and precise duration. While some reporting suggests a five-year term, this has not been officially confirmed. This ambiguousness leaves open questions about the economics—whether the investment is structured with escalating yearly payments, shared risk, or performance-based payouts. Paramount’s capacity to monetize the deal—via new subscribers to Paramount+, advertising revenue (on CBS or other broadcast simulcasts), and possibly international expansion—will be key to validating the return on investment.
On the promotion side, Zuffa Boxing aims to disrupt the current model of boxing by reducing fragmentation: planned reforms include fewer weight divisions, its own championship belts and rankings system, and alternative legal structure amendments to the Ali Act while preserving fighter protections under the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. These structural changes, if realized, could provide clarity and marketing leverage in a sport known for complexity and competing sanctioning bodies.
Strategically, the alignment of leadership—Turki Alalshikh, Sela, Dana White, Nick Khan—and the backing from Saudi sources indicates both capital and regional ambitions. The model appears to be designed to produce rising boxers in affordable and competitive bouts (“50/50 fights”) with a long-term view toward him being featured in marquee international events such as Saudi’s Riyadh Season. However, Zuffa Boxing will need to navigate resistance from traditional promoters, sanctioning authorities, and existing regulatory structures.
Open risks include: sustaining viewer interest for lower-tier cards, ensuring boxing’s quality and fairness under new belts and fewer divisions, managing production costs, avoiding brand dilution, and competing with established promotions like PBC, Top Rank, and Matchroom, which have deals with Amazon, DAZN, and others. Also, Paramount must manage cost pressures, as its recent UFC deal at $7.7 billion already represents a heavy financial commitment.
Supporting Notes
- Zuffa Boxing media rights deal: Paramount+ becomes exclusive home in U.S., Canada & Latin America starting January 2026; beginning with at least 12 cards/year with plans to grow.
- Leadership: Dana White (UFC), Nick Khan (WWE), HE Turki Alalshikh (Saudi GEA, Boxing Federation), Dr. Rakan Alharthy (Sela) involved in forming Zuffa Boxing.
- Promotion structure changes: fewer weight divisions, own title belts and rankings; proposed amendment to U.S. Ali Act to allow in-house championships but maintaining optional compliance with existing law.
- Parallelity with UFC deal: Paramount’s earlier agreement to acquire U.S. rights to UFC content for $7.7 billion over seven years, starting 2026, average annual cost ~$1.1 billion.
- Deal duration: multiple reports (e.g., Yahoo Sports; Fight News) describe the Zuffa-Paramount pact as multi-year, suggesting five years, though company press releases do not confirm term or financial guarantees.
- Market context: other major boxing promotions have fragmented rights—PBC with Amazon, Top Rank lost ESPN deal, Golden Boy & Matchroom with DAZN—but none with Paramount’s reach, giving Zuffa Boxing a potentially unique platform.