Joe Rogan Has Feeling UFC Will Move to Netflix Amidst Dana White’s Promotion Broadcasting Deal Coming to an End

With UFC’s 7-year deal coming to an end, speculations are ripe about the MMA promotion finding a new home, most of it pointing in the direction of global streaming giant Netflix. Amid these projections, long-time commentator Joe Rogan has also stamped his approval on the probable transition, especially in light of Netflix having learnt its lessons from the “wokeness era“.

“Netflix has too much content. I love Netflix, don’t get me wrong“, he began the discussion with fellow podcast host Tim Dillon. Rogan’s affirmation comes just days after the negotiating window between ESPN and UFC officially closed on April 15.

UFC boss Dana White addressed the media in the aftermath, announcing that the UFC brass will now officially be talking about a new contract for the promotion’s broadcasting rights to a multitude of prospective partners.

Meanwhile, Rogan claims that the UFC has already spoken to YouTube about the subject as well, but the brass has been on the side of the subscription model rather than making their product free. And as such, the Netflix papers getting inked is more likely.

“I think the UFC might be going to Netflix soon. Wild! Because Netflix is international, it’s everywhere“, he said, noting how he tried to access ESPN during an Italy trip was found out that the service was not available in the country.

“I am like,’ What are these people watching right now?’ Can’t even watch the fights!” a shocked Rogan added.

Notably, Rogan hasn’t always been this big a fan of Netflix.

Tom Brady saved Netflix from ‘wokeness’: Rogan

One of the reasons Rogan claims to be so interested in the Netflix deal is because he believes that the streaming company has learnt its lesson from trying to cater to a progressive audience.

Calling their previous attitude an “inquisition”, Rogan claimed that things had gotten pretty dark at one point. But it all changed when they got NFL star Tom Brady to sign up for his infamous roast.

“Netflix is f*cking great and I think they learnt a big lesson during the wokeness era… they were putting out a lot of stuff that was hot garbage because they thought this was what culture wanted and what society wanted, but the numbers didn’t work“, a visibly scorned Rogan noted.

“And then they did the Tom Brady Roast and the numbers were the highest that they have ever had of any show ever on Netflix and they were like, ‘Okay, we get it'”, he added, relieved.

The Roast of Tom Brady, according to The Hollywood Reporter, was viewed for 1.67 billion minutes for the second week of May 2024, pushing half a billion views beyond popular shows like Grey’s Anatomy.

That number translates to 27.87 million hours, which was two-thirds of the streaming platform’s 42.2 million hours of viewership between May 6-12.

As a result of the roast, Rogan claims that the streaming service made a lot of their comedy shows live, including his.

Notably, Rogan’s anti-woke comedy special ‘Burn the boats’ had faced the wrath of critics everywhere, who claimed he had tried too hard to put age-old talking points about culture wars and the LGBTQ+ community through an unfunny Lazarus pit.

Joining them in criticizing Rogan’s talking points in general was one if his own friends.

Rogan’s friend calls his audience, ‘losers’

Rogan’s friend and ace comic Anthony Jeselnik, during his own stand-up special ‘Bones and All’, took shots at the Joe Rogan Experience and its keen audience.

“Do not get me wrong, I like Joe. Joe’s my friend, Joe’s a good guy. But if you listen to his podcast, you’re a f**king loser… My brother-in-law is Joe Rogan’s target demographic. My brother-in-law is a conspiracy theorist. A crazy, conspiracy theorist“, Jesselnik joked.

Rogan currently has one of the biggest podcasts in the world, with 14.5 million followers on Spotify in 2024, with the second best being TED Talks Daily with 5 million to show for their efforts.

Rogan’s YouTube channel currently has 19. 7 million subscribers, closely matched by his Instagram with 19.8 million followers.