For over six years now, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has held a partnership with television channel SpikeTV where they have had prime exposure to the targeted male demographic that are easily attracted to the combat sport of Mixed Martial Arts. After the famed Griffin vs Bonnar fight that finished off the first season of TUF1 and at the same time shot the UFC into the mainstream, a new deal was made that set up a partnership where the promotion would continue to run the reality competition based show The Ultimate Fighter and televise events free for fans on the channel that eventually included televising free preliminary bouts from PPV events. The partnership has always appeared in good health and everything appeared to be running smoothly, until recently when lack of promotion on SpikeTV's part was visible leading up to the the recent thirteenth installment of TUF and the fifth installment of UFC Primetime. After it became apparent that there was a serious lack of promotion, the fact that the deal between the two will expire at the end of this year 2011 became the biggest topic in MMA news media. After the lackluster promotion and ratings of this now past season, it became clear that the relationship between the the network and the UFC had soured and thus signaled that the chances of the two renewing their deal is less likely now. This is considered absolute now with news breaking that the Zuffa/UFC is in talks to purchase 60% controlling stake of the network television channel G4TV.
G4TV is a network television channel that mainly targets a mostly male demographic ranging from teenage to mid-thirties. Though the channel is primarily technology, video game, and science oriented, those same demographics are also attracted to the sport of MMA, and therefore is a good platform for the UFC. The unfortunate side of this interest is the conflict between G4TV and American direct broadcast satellite service provider DirecTV. In late 2010 DirecTV announced that they were removing the channel from their listings due to a lack of ratings. With no new deal signed between the two, over twenty million households lost the option of watching the channel in their listings. This setback for the channel can potentially be fixed should they be purchased by a powerhouse like Zuffa, LLC. Big money for cable and satellite providers comes from selling and dealing in Pay-Per-Views, and the UFC has become one of the biggest draws in the business. Should Zuffa purchase G4TV, currently owned by Comcast, they would already have a relationship with DirecTV and most likely set up a new deal to regain viewership for the channel. The potential for the UFC having their own channel has long been anticipated by MMA fans. With a network channel like G4TV, attracting the right demographics would be simple if they just added their own element with the already popular lineup. X-Play is an original show on G4TV that focuses on video game previews, reviews, and news. Attack of the Show! is another original show that focuses on "nerd" culture showcasing viral web videos, consumer electronics, comic books, DVDs, video games, and more. With the recent announcement at this year's Microsoft conference at E3 that Xbox Live will now feature live television and soon debut UFC Live where fans can purchase PPV events over the online network, and the likelihood that G4TV will be among the listed channels, the potential for the UFC to branch out more platforms of entertainment is made even easier should they make this acquisition. For any deal to happen though, the Zuffa-SpikeTV must first run its remaining course and expire towards the end of the year for Zuffa to make a deal with Comcast, or any other potential deals that may be on the table, and transition any content that was showcased on SpikeTV to G4TV.
The fact that the UFC already has a relationship with Comcast through their soon to be renamed channel VersusTV where they showcase free fight night events, negotiations will most likely go smooth and a deal may not be that difficult to reach. The success of acquiring G4TV may be based solely on getting the channel back on DirecTV to get as much exposure to their demographic as they can. What do MMA fans think about this potential acquisition? How many MMA fans are even aware of familiar with G4TV? Will this benefit the UFC, MMA, and fans? We can only wait for everything to run its course.
No comments:
Post a Comment