There is no doubt that MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. In most cases casual fans do not even recognize MMA but it is three other letters that are identified with the sport, UFC. The UFC has established itself as the premier MMA promotion in the world and last week announced a seven-year deal to bring their popular programming to the FOX Network.
The UFC currently airs a majority of it’s programming on a combination of Spike TV and Versus. However, with their current agreement with Spike TV coming to an end, the time was right to bring the UFC and MMA to arguably one of America’s top networks in FOX.
What that means is that the UFC will now be broadcasting their programming into around 99 million homes when they begin to air events on FOX in November and The Ultimate Fighter in the spring of 2012. UFC programming will also air on other FOX owned networks such as FUEL TV and FSMG beginning in January.
This is good news for Dallas fans, as the UFC will more accessible on cable. At last glance, Versus was on the more expensive package with both Direct TV and Dish Network. FOX and FX are on the standard line up for both. For Time Warner and Verizon, FX is also a part of the lower tier packages.
When building a brand exposure is key. The more opportunities you have to set your brand in front of potential viewers the better. This deal is huge for MMA and of course the UFC.
Will it increase the growth of popularity in the United States? It should. FOX has said they are behind the growth of the UFC and with the combination of the UFC marketing machine and the FOX marketing machine there should be immediate dividends for both the UFC and FOX. For fans this means increased availability to UFC programming as well as more live events on FREE TV.
Dana White always said they would make a move when the terms where right for the UFC and according to the Sports Business Journal, FOX will pay the UFC 100 million per year for the duration of the seven year contract.
The first event on FOX is set to take place on November 12 at 9 PM CST in Anaheim, California.
There is no doubt this is a game changer for the UFC. Visibility is everything and this deal has set the UFC up for prime visibility.
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