UK pay-television broadcaster BT Sport has today (Wednesday) confirmed that it has signed a new exclusive rights deal with mixed martial arts promotion the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Under the new deal, BT Sport will televise and live stream every UFC event from around the world. The length of the deal was not officially disclosed, although it is widely reported to run until the end of 2018.
The broadcaster will retain its exclusive rights in the UK and Ireland to the UFC. As part of the enhanced agreement, BT Sport will provide coverage of all US-numbered pay-per-view events, as well as all events staged in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In addition to live coverage, BT Sport subscribers are offered access to an archive of on-demand content across television, web and app services. BT Sport said it would now broadcast more than 150 hours of live UFC content each year.
An extension of the two parties’ agreement, which first began in 2013 and was due to conclude next month, has been mooted for some time.