Zuffa continues to make strides in turning the Ultimate Fighting Championship into a household name. This week another pivotal step was taken in that direction, as the UFC announced a new seven-year television deal with the Fox Broadcasting Company.
Many UFC personalities were on hand for the press conference, where UFC President Dana White announced what he called the biggest milestone in the last 10 years.
With this deal, the UFC moves closer to having the ability to produce an event every week of the year. During the seven year contract, Fox has the rights to show 32 weeks’ worth of live fights each year. As part of this deal, FX will broadcast six live UFC events, and four events will air on the Fox network.
Another benefit of this new deal is that the UFC’s reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter” will continue, however it will be broadcast in a live format, versus the normally pre-taped shows. With two seasons set for each year, TUF will now air live fights over the course of 24 weeks annually. The season finales will continue in their regular format at the end of each term. Fuel TV, an additional Fox channel, will also gain UFC programming, becoming the home of such shows as the preliminary fights of major cards and “UFC Unleashed.”
This new deal comes as the company’s present contract with Spike TV draws to a close at the end of this year. Spike has been the home of MMA in many ways during the last six years, and thanks to the birth of TUF, it was a springboard for the growth of the sport. Spike will still be able to broadcast old UFC events through the end of 2012.
With this change I’m interested in seeing whether Bellator becomes a major beneficiary. Currently airing shows on MTV2, Bellator is the number two MMA promoter in the United States. With Spike set to no longer be the home of the UFC, this organization can now look to slide into that spot. And since Viacom owns both MTV2 and Spike TV, the move could likely be done relatively easily.
I’m also interested in seeing what this major deal means for the continued growth of mixed martial arts. This year has been a big year, with big announcements coming from Zuffa regarding medical insurance for fighters, as well as the purchase of Strikeforce. As the organization continues to take steps such as these to make their sport even more mainstream, I can’t wait to see what is next both as a fan and as a professional in the industry.
