CBS Not Airing UFC 329 Prelims Despite Conor McGregor’s Return

CBS will not air a simulcast of early fights leading into Conor McGregor’s highly anticipated return at UFC 329 on Saturday. However, the broadcast network will air a one-hour primetime special at 9:00 pm ET Friday night to promote the event, featuring weigh-ins for McGregor and his opponent, Max Holloway, as well as interviews with the fighters and an appearance by UFC president Dana White. 

Nevertheless, the decision not to air any of the actual event live seems to mark a strategic pivot on Paramount’s part. All UFC events run live on the Paramount+ streaming service. However, in March and April, CBS simulcasted two hours of both UFC 326 and 327, featuring the final hour of prelims and first hour of the main card on broadcast television. 

Spokespeople for Paramount and UFC parent company TKO declined to comment. This Saturday, CBS will be airing NCIS: Sydney and 48 Hours in that time slot. 

This comes after Paramount conspicuously opted not to air a sample of the UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House lawn in June. This decision was somewhat surprising given the context that White mentioned the idea of the event airing on CBS in the immediate aftermath of Paramount’s seven-year, $1.1 billion deal with UFC last year. This past February, TKO CEO and executive chair Ari Emanuel also told Pat McAfee that it would be on CBS. 

There are rational business considerations as to why Freedom 250 did not air on CBS, which has much wider reach than Paramount+. The event itself was a tremendous spectacle that had a massive curiosity factor. Giving away elements like what the setup and entrances looked like on free TV could arguably have made it so that people on the fence about subscribing to Paramount+ would have been satisfied getting the sample without buying the whole enchilada.

However, from the outside, it would seem logical for a main event the magnitude of UFC 329 on Saturday to try to draw as many casual observers into the tent as possible in terms of driving streaming subscriptions. 

McGregor is UFC’s biggest draw and most famous household name—and he hasn’t fought for five years. The “get-in” price for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday is $1,000, after fees, on SeatGeek. If ever there were a time for Paramount to deploy CBS to cast a wide net and drive new streaming signups, one would think this is the main event to do it.