Miller Lite to Sponsor TUF 11

SpikeTV and the UFC have released a five minute teaser for the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter 11 that gives us an indication of which brands will be sponsoring the season; most notable among them is Miller Lite.

Payout Perspective:

Everyone is aware that Bud Light is the UFC’s most prominent sponsor: the brand has a dominant market share and shells out more money in sports sponsorships than any other company in the US. However, Bud Light’s rights to exclusivity only pertain to beer (not all alcohol) and PPV events. We should be careful not to read too much into the Miller Lite sponsorship; after all it may be no different than last season’s Mickey’s Malt Liquor sponsorship.

Then again, there’s been some lingering question as to whether Bud Light would renew its sponsorship contract with the UFC (consummated in April 2008). Brock Lesnar’s post-fight rant at UFC 100 didn’t do much to help, and bringing in another light (or lite) beer as a sponsor associated with any part of the UFC brand likely won’t either.

There’s a certain amount of credibility that comes with a Bud Light sponsorship, which the UFC may not want to lose. But I’m also inclined to think there are a host of other competitors out there that would love to land the UFC beer sponsorship; competitors that might be more willing to spend additional money to activate around the sponsorship and raise the interest of both brands in the process. Something that, in my opinion, Bud Light has failed to do in the last two years.