This weekend will see the UFC present their first pay-per-view of 2019 this Saturday in the form of UFC 234, which features UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker defending the gold against Kelvin Gastelum in the main event.
However, subscribers of Direct TV will not be able to watch the event through that service because negotiations broke down between Direct TV and the UFC for a new deal according to MMA Junkie.
The following statement was issued by the UFC on the matter:
“UFC’s live events are some of the most-watched pay-per-views in the country and remain must-see viewing for all MMA fans. Unfortunately, we have been unable to reach an agreement with one of our primary distributors, DirecTV. Though we continue to work to reach a resolution, UFC 234, LIVE from Melbourne on Saturday, February 9, will not be available on DirecTV. To ensure that fans don’t miss a minute of action, DirecTV subscribers should consider other viewing options, including UFC.TV, ESPN.com, Amazon Prime, Sony PlayStation, Xbox, local cable providers, and Dish Network. For more information, please visit UFC.com/order.”
MMA Junkie is also reporting that the UFC wants a 70-30 split of the pay-per-view revenue in their favor, which could be why no deal has been reached at this time.
There has been no comment by Direct TV at this time.
A short time after the above story was reported, a tweet was issued by UFC President Dana White and the UFC saying a deal was struck with Direct TV, meaning UFC 234 will air on their service:
We have a 1 fight deal for this weekend with @directv for Whittaker vs Gastelum and Adesanya vs Silva. So it will be on DirecTV and in bars and on every other platform. I will have this shit all worked out in the next couple weeks. Thank u pic.twitter.com/BkcDINaMdo
— Dana White (@danawhite) February 8, 2019
UFC's PPV distribution agreement with DirecTV has expired, but we have a 1 fight deal for this weekend with @DirecTV.
— UFC (@ufc) February 8, 2019
The prelims will be on ESPN while the main card is on PPV.
There are still many options on buying the PPV listed here https://t.co/PNhchPbbw6
