UFC eyes HBO and TNT expansion as TKO pursues wider audience under Skydance deal

The UFC could soon appear on HBO and TNT as TKO Group Holdings explores ways to broaden the promotion’s audience under its landmark media partnership with Paramount-Skydance, TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro confirmed during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday.

Shapiro said talks with Skydance are already underway, citing the expanded media portfolio now available following Paramount-Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on 6 October. That deal brought HBO and TNT under the same corporate umbrella as Paramount+ and CBS, opening the door to a significantly wider distribution footprint for UFC programming.

“We’re in conversation as we speak with Skydance about the best way to maximize audience across the Skydance platform,” Shapiro said. “We will be maximizing HBO, TNT, Paramount+, CBS, all in the name of expanding eyeballs, expanding viewership, growing audience, and increasing engagement.”

Shapiro also underlined the mutual commercial incentive behind the push. “We are fully aligned strategically with Skydance and, frankly, they made a huge investment in UFC, and we want to see that we help them maximize their returns,” he added.

The UFC’s current U.S. media rights arrangement — a seven-year, $7.7 billion agreement with Paramount — began in January 2026, replacing the promotion’s long-running partnership with ESPN. Under the terms of that deal, UFC events moved to Paramount+, with select numbered events also broadcast on CBS, and separate pay-per-view charges for U.S. viewers were eliminated.

Despite Shapiro’s comments, no specific plans or confirmed launch dates for UFC programming on HBO or TNT have been announced. The discussions remain at an exploratory stage, and any expansion of the distribution strategy would represent an addition to the existing Paramount framework rather than a replacement of it.