Smaller sports may become next shopping targets for big streamers
Ethan Miller/Getty Images News

Niche sports leagues may be the next frontier in acquisitions for the ravenous streaming industry, CNBC notes as it observes rising sports rights fees that mean content giants will be paying up one way or another.
The trends point the way toward a potential buyout for groups like World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE
-0.8%), Formula One racing (FWONA
-1.7%), NASCAR stock car racing or mixed martial arts leader Ultimate Fighting Championship, according to CNBC.
Before what is now Endeavor Group (EDR
-1.4%) bought UFC for just over $4 billion in 2016, Disney (DIS
-1.5%) had negotiated terms of a deal that would see the Mouse House paying about $4.3 billion for the sports company. But then-CEO Bob Iger felt the bloody brand didn't fit with Disney's image.
Two years later, though, ESPN paid $1.5 billion for five-year UFC TV rights, and ESPN+ has a deal until 2025 to stream UFC fights. An ESPN renewal will mean paying much more than the $4.3 billion Disney once contemplated for the whole league.
Formula One, WWE and UFC are all language-independent properties that have global appeal, Alex Sherman notes - a factor that could tip the scales for potential major-streaming acquirers like Disney, Netflix (NFLX
-3.2%), Amazon.com (AMZN
-2.1%) or the upcoming Warner Bros. Discovery (T
-1.3%) (DISCA
-5%) (WBDWV).
WWE President Nick Khan has noted that legacy media could be interested as well, including Fox (FOX
-2%) (FOXA
-1.8%), Paramount Global (PARA
-3.3%) (PARAA
-2.9%), or NBCUniversal (CMCSA
-2%).