US media giant Paramount has secured media rights to the nascent Zuffa Boxing promotion in a major multi-year rights deal that extends its partnership with the combat sports ownership company TKO Group.
Through the multi-year deal, which covers the US, Canada, and Latin America, Paramount will become the exclusive distributor of Zuffa Boxing events from 2026 onwards.
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The media giant will show fight cards on its Paramount+ OTT streaming service, with select fights and events potentially simulcast on linear TV via CBS.
Zuffa will run 12 boxing cards across 2026, and has said it plans to increase that number in the coming years.
Paramount's chair for direct-to-consumer, Cindy Holland, said: "Its a partnership that advances several of our core priorities: delivering premium sports to fans, providing audiences with year-round marquee live events, and creating long-term value through a differentiated, must-watch portfolio of content.
“By combining TKO and Zuffa Boxing’s world-class production and promotional capabilities with our subscribers’ passion for sports, we are confident we will deliver something truly special to boxing fans throughout the U.S., Canada, and Latin America for years to come.”
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By GlobalDataParamount’s burgeoning DTC division (including Paramount+), led by 18-year Netflix veteran Holland, grew strongly in the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year.
Zuffa boxing was started by TKO in collaboration with Saudi Arabian events company Sela, and the country’s General Entertainment Authority, which is chaired by prominent boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh.
The promotion is spearheaded by Dana White, the chair of TKO-owned mixed-martial arts promotion UFC, which recently also partnered with Paramount on a bumper $7.7 billion rights deal.
This latest partnership between the two further bolsters Paramount+’s sports streaming offering, with Zuffa events made available to all users, and not via the pay-per-view method that is fast becoming obsolete.
Zuffa Boxing debuted on September 13 with its first major card, centered on the boxing superfight between Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
That fight drew 41 million global viewers on streaming service Netflix.
The streamer has called the September 13 fight the “most-viewed men’s championship boxing match” of the 21st century, adding that, while live, it drew an average minute audience (AMA) of 36.6 million, with additional viewership across the weekend contributing to the 41 million figure.
In the US alone, the AMA sat at 20.3 million, putting it on a par with the recent season-opening NFL games, and peaking at 24 million concurrent livestreams.
This figure is further bolstered by the estimated 500,000 viewers in commercial establishments suggested by Joe Hand Promotions, the business that managed the fight’s commercial establishment rights distribution.
