The number one business story of the year was the UFC-Fox deal as mixed martial arts entered the mainstream with its 7 year, $90 million television rights deal. The deal was an upgrade from its $35 million a year deal with Spike TV. The longtime relationship between the UFC-Spike relationship deteriorated this year with passive […]
TV
Countdown to UFC 141: 15,000 viewers
MMA Junkie reports that UFC 141 Countdown garnered just 15,000 viewers on FUEL TV. A replay of the show the same night at 1am ET/10pm PT garnered a dismal 1,000 viewers. The 15,000 viewers received a 0.03 household rating rating among men 18-49 and a 0.0 among men 18-34. UFC 141 aired the week of […]
11 for 11: No 6 Viacom purchases Bellator
Viacom purchased a majority stake in Bellator this fall and announced that it would move its newest purchase to Spike TV in 2013. With the UFC looking for a new network dance partner most of 2011, many believed that Bellator would make the move to Spike. The purchase of Bellator confirmed the speculation. Spike TV […]
Fuel TV Planning UFC Marathon On New Years, Spike Eager to Monetize UFC Library
Fuel TV will officially kick off the new year by airing a 24-hour marathon of UFC programming on New Years Day, which will feature five show premieres. This will also officially kickoff the partnership between Fuel TV and the UFC, which Fuel claims will air more UFC programming than any network ever. FUEL TV (http://www.fuel.tv), […]
“Ultimate Fridays” to run opposite TUF-Bellator
Spike TV announced that it would air episodes from the past 14 episodes of The Ultimate Fighter on Fridays. The programming move runs opposite FX’s “The Ultimate Fighter” and Bellator on MTV2. Via Spike TV press release: Spike TV, the recognized home of mixed martial arts on television, has announced a new three-hour programming block […]