Friday, August 19, 2011
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES
The UFC has made it to network prime-time.
Mixed martial arts’ dominant promotional company announced a seven-year deal with Fox on Thursday, putting four UFC shows on the main network each year and an array of programming on its cable networks.
The UFC will become a prominent feature on FX, with live fights on most Friday nights and a revamped version of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the UFC’s popular reality show.
UFC President Dana White said the deal is the biggest step yet in MMA’s transformation from a banned fringe sport into a mainstream entertainment property.
The UFC already is popular among young men, but Fox will put the sport in front of a much bigger audience with its first regular slot on a broadcast network.
“This is what I always wanted, what I always thought was the pinnacle for us,” White said. “This partnership is going to take this sport to the next level. Those people that thought I was a lunatic, saying this was going to be the biggest sport in the world, this is the next step.”
Fox will allow the UFC to control its own production, a longtime stumbling block in White’s negotiations with network TV over the past several years.
Although the UFC is still in charge of the product, White said he wants “to make a fresh start” in every aspect of UFC’s programming, working with Fox to improve even its pay-per-view broadcasts.
“TV is all about the next big thing, and that’s what we’re here for,” Fox Sports chairman David Hill said.