- Spike TV’s “UFC Prelims” broadcast for UFC 109 earns series-high 1.7 million viewers
- As Jones/Vera nears, Versus and DirecTV still not close to a deal
- Vince McMahon: Heavyweight Champion of Branding
- FIGHT! Media Expands Into UK Market
- New Insurance Options for MMA Fighters. Comprehensive Coverage Still Lacking
Spike TV’s “UFC Prelims” broadcast for UFC 109 earns series-high 1.7 million viewers
Spike TV’s one-hour “UFC Prelim” broadcast for this past weekend’s “UFC 109: Relentless” event scored a series-high 1.7 million viewers, which topped the 1.5 million who tuned in for January’s UFC 108 event.
The one-hour broadcast, which featured two preliminary-card bouts and aired before the night’s pay-per-view telecast, scored a 1.2 household rating overall, as well as a 1.6 rating among men 18-49 and a 1.1 among people 18-49, both of which also set records.
…
The full list of “UFC Prelims” broadcasts and ratings includes:
1. UFC 109 (February 2010): 1.7 million viewers
2. UFC 108 (January 2010): 1.5 million viewers
3. UFC 104 (October 2009): 1.4 million viewers
4. UFC 103 (September 2009): 1.4 million viewers
5. UFC 106 (November 2009): 1.3 million viewers
The ratings, of course, pale in comparison to those Spike TV garners for full-event broadcasts, such as UFC Fight Night and The Ultimate Fighter Finale airings, but they lead to an increase in PPV buys on the night of the event, which is the UFC’s primary revenue generator. (MMAJunkie) … [MMA Payout’s Perspective]
As Jones/Vera nears, Versus and DirecTV still not close to a deal
DirecTV and Versus — the televised home of World Extreme Cagefighting and the station that will air a stacked Fight Night on March 21 — are still far away from coming together for a TV deal. They released this statement to our brother-blog, Puck Daddy.
“At this time, we are not optimistic that an agreement will be in place with DirecTV in time for the start of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.”
The Stanley Cup playoffs start in mid-April, meaning that it’s unlikely that a deal to get Versus back onto DirecTV will happen in time for UFC on Versus 1: Vera vs. Jones. Not only that, it means that the March 6 WEC card, equally stacked, will not air on DirecTV. (Cage Writer)
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Versus: ‘Not optimistic’ DirecTV deal in place by playoffs
Well, that’s no good. The sides are still talking, but a source with knowledge of the negotiations told me that there’s a multitude of issues still being debated in the stalemate. The source characterized the talks as “two sides speaking different languages.”
The same source said recent optimism that a deal would get done by March, mostly coming from MMA media that are also affected by the DirecTV/Versus dispute, doesn’t sync up with the current state of negotiations — going as far as to say it’s status quo from the end of last year. (Puck Daddy)
Vince McMahon: Heavyweight Champion of Branding
Both his company and its marquee event, WrestleMania, fell just short of making the Forbes Fab 40, our ranking of the world’s top sports brands. But even to be in the mix with the likes of Nike, Under Armour and EA Sports shows how far the company has come since McMahon bought what was then called the World Wide Wrestling Federation from his father in 1982 (despite the name, it only operated in the Northeastern United States). Now WWE is global and has a market cap of $1.2 billion, which we calculate to be 30% attributable to the value of its name alone.
The guy has an incredible knack for building brands. By cultivating different images and personas for each of WWE’s weekly TV shows, monthly pay-per view events and stable of wrestlers, McMahon constantly reinvents his company in order to stay relevant. The cartoonish heroes vs. villians story lines of 1980s gave way to an edgier product in the ’90s. Now WWE has moved back towards more family friendly shows, often “guest hosted” by celebrities like William Shatner and Shaquille O’Neal. (Forbes)
FIGHT! Media Expands Into UK Market
FIGHT! Media, the publisher of the most popular mixed martial arts magazine in the United States, has launched its operations in the United Kingdom, President and Editor-in-Chief Donovan Craig announced today.
Commencing with the March issue, the Atlanta, GA-based company, intends to make an initial print run of 25,000 copies of FIGHT! UK as it expands into the British market.
The new Operations Director of FIGHT! UK, Simon Wibberley, is the former Managing Director of MMA Unltd, which he founded in April, 2008. MMA Unltd had immediate success and was celebrated for its championing of the UK MMA scene, the support it gave fighters and the exposure it brought to local promotions.
FIGHT! UK will launch with a full sales and operational staff within the UK. “This is a very exciting time for FIGHT! and UK MMA, says Wibberley. “2010 looks great for MMA fans in the UK.”
FIGHT! magazine, a division of Bluff Media, was launched in 2007 under the guidance of Craig, the company’s founding Publisher and Editor. FIGHT! now enjoys the largest print run of any monthly MMA magazine in the country. In October 2009, FIGHT! expanded its operations with the creation of FIGHT! Media, a vertically-integrated multimedia outfit. Recent developments include an aggressive Internet strategy, including a re-launched website headed by online Editor Neal Taflinger. A new video division, overseen by Director Matthew Ross, will also create a number of radio, TV, and film projects which will be announced later this year. (PR Web)
New Insurance Options for MMA Fighters. Comprehensive Coverage Still Lacking
The Honolulu Star Bulletin has a piece on the local implications of a change in policy at the national level for insurer AFLAC when it comes to covering extreme sports like mixed martial arts:
Last month the world’s largest supplemental insurance provider expanded its accident plan to include coverage for all types of extreme sports, from sky diving to mixed martial arts.
“Ten times out of ten, if you participate in any of these sports, you’re uninsurable,” said Dustin Dean Deniz, Aflac district sales coordinator for Honolulu. “We’re the only company that will specifically insure these types of events.”
The policy is not primary medical insurance.
Aflac would assist policyholders with everyday household expenditures and lost wages. For example, Aflac would pay $250 a day for hospital confinement. Throw in another $400 a day if the policyholder is admitted into an intensive care unit.
The expansion for extreme sports has hiked up policy rates by a small margin. For an individual policy, a policy used to cost $24.10 a month, but is now $26.52. For a couple, it was $32.30, and now is $35.36.
While this is a nice change and adds options for fighters insofar as a secondary coverage, there still remains a lack of a viable, affordable primary option for the vast majority of fighters. Those on the very high end of the curve make enough to cover the large premiums required of an MMA fighter, but that only covers a small few in the upper reaches of the UFC and Strikeforce. Coverage remains a problem for most all fighters in MMA’s big leagues, and nearly all toiling at the sport’s lower levels. (Mixed Martial Blogist)
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MMA fighters worry about insurance mandate
The Governor has signed into law regulations on mixed martial arts (MMA) but some who advocated for the bill are criticizing a provision requiring fighters to have insurance. Madison fight trainer Mark Plavcan says, “it’s not smart to fight without insurance;” but he understands concerns about finding affordable coverage.
Plavcan says some insurers who cover extreme sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding, have opened up to MMA as well. But with some fighters only bringing in a few hundred dollars a competition, he says a potentially high premium cost may be hard to justify.
Plavcan, who co-owns “Twisted Fitness Gym,” was among a group including promoters and physicians who pushed for the oversight which includes requiring ringside physicians and pre-and-post fight physicals.
The bill only lays the groundwork for licensing and regulations in the events. The state’s Boxing Commissioner Hector Colon, who will oversee MMA, plans to meet with industry insiders to establish unified rules for the fast growing sport. (Wisconsin Radio Network)
QUICK HITS
- Kings to Host Urijah Faber Night on Feb. 23 (NBA)
- Antwain Britt Targeted for Strikeforce-CBS Card (MMAFighting)
- Kampmann out, Ellenberger faces Saunders at UFC 111 in March (MMAJunkie)
- UFC 114 takes place at MGM in Las Vegas, UFC Fan Expo 2010 at Mandalay Bay (MMAJunkie)
- Q&A with Brandon Vera and Urijah Faber (Las Vegas Sun)
- JZ Cavalcante Making Sure He Is 100% Before Return (MMAFighting)
- Why Blame Herschel Walker When MMA Itself Is a Freakshow? (Bloody Elbow)
- COUTURE FOCUSED ON FIGHTS, NOT TITLES (MMAWeekly)
- AMA FIGHTER CHARLIE BRENNEMAN SIGNS WITH UFC (MMAWeekly)
- Matt Major Joins Bellator Middleweight Tournament (Heavy)
- Tibau Preparing for Uno, Dreams of Fight with Penn (Sherdog)
- Freaks and Geeks: Defending the Circus (ESPN)
IMAGE OF THE DAY
- Kings to Host Urijah Faber Night on Feb. 23
TV LISTINGS
- HDNet Fights Presents K-1 Classics (Maeda & Teixeira, 2008) at 8 PM ET on HDNet (02/12/10)
- InsideMMA (Randy Couture, Mike Swick, & Bobby Lashley) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (02/12/10)
- HDNet Fights Presents King of the Cage – Vengeance at 10 PM ET on HDNet (02/12/10)
- Best of Pride FC at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (02/12/10)
UPCOMING EVENTS
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