MMA-URLS

The Sherdog Radio Network goes live Monday at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

Posted in: pm, radio, alvarez, pt, network

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Tune in Friday for live audio on the Sherdog Radio Network.

Posted in: ufc, vs, radio, network, friday

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FUEL TV, FOX Sports Media Group’s dynamic sports network for males, is television’s fastest-growing cable network this year, according to figures released by Nielsen Media Research. In both the Total Day and Prime Time, the network recorded the largest percentage increases of total viewers among all rated, ad-supported cable networks in the first quarter of 2012.  FUEL TV continued its unprecedented ratings increases in March, following the growth trend that began in January when Ultimate Fighting Championship® programming began to dominate key day-parts. February was the network’s most-watched month ever, featuring its first live UFC fight, which delivered the channel its most-watched program, most-watched Prime Time and most-watched week.  FUEL TV aired 233 hours of UFC programming in February and added another 213 hours in March. FUEL TV telecast 646 hours of UFC programming in the first three months of 2012. FUEL TV March 2012 Audience Highlights:•    March 2012 was up +100% in Total Viewers and +167% in M18-49 vs. March 2011;•    Prime Time viewership grew +209% on Total Viewers and +325% among M18-49 vs. March 2011; •    Late Night is up +170% on Total Viewers and +600% among M18-49 vs. March 2011. FUEL TV First Quarter 2012 Audience Highlights:•    Q1 2012 was FUEL TV’s most-watched in network history, finishing up +100% in Total Viewers and up +125% in M18-49 vs. Q1 2011; •    Q1 Prime Time viewership increased +200% in Total Viewers and +260% among M18-49 vs. the same quarter last year; •    Q1 Late Night increased +222% on Total Viewers and +275% among M18-49 compared to Q1 in 2011. "It is unbelievable how much impact the UFC has had on this network and its ratings,” says George Greenberg, Executive Vice President and General Manager, FUEL TV. "We’re thrilled to have the UFC as a partner driving this growth. With more upcoming live fights in April, May and through the year, we expect this trend to continue.” FUEL TV’s next Fight Week begins April 8 and culminates with network’s next live fight on Saturday, April 14 with UFC on FUEL TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva.  In 2012, FUEL TV telecasts more than 2,000 hours of UFC programming, with more than 100 hours of live fights, weigh-ins, preliminary bouts, and pre- and postfight shows. In this year, FUEL TV offers more UFC programming than any network has ever offered. For a complete listing of FUEL TV shows, go to: http://www.fuel.tv/schedule/. For more information, go to www.fuel.tv, www.fuel.tv/ufc, on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/fueltv, and on Twitter at: @fueltv, #UFConFUELTV To find FUEL TV on your television, go to www.fuel.tv/getfueltv, or call 877-4 FUEL-TV.   

Posted in: ufc, viewer, tv, network, fuel

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The Ultimate Fighter Live on FX have continued to post steady ratings, but are they the ratings that the UFC and the cable network were hoping for?

Posted in: fighter, week, rating, network, cable network

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This past Friday night on The Ultimate Fighter: Live, we were treated to the first sudden-victory round of the young season. However, that caused some problems with both the fighters, coaches and FX, as the network cut away for a three-minute commercial break after the second round. Normally, there is just one-minute breaks between the rounds, but FX went to a network commercial break and the UFC was left with nothing to do but wait. Al Iaquinta and Myles Jury sat and tried to stay ready inside the Octagon, but you could tell they were hindered by the extended break. UFC president Dana White informed MMA Junkie’s Dann Stupp and John Morgan that things will change from here on out if a third round is needed. We were on a network commercial break. You can’t break a network commercial break. We need to fix that. This is a live sporting event, and we need to be on our toes knowing that we can go to another round. We have a 60-second commercial, and you come right back to the fight. That was bad. What are you going to do? We can’t pull out of a network break, so we need to figure that out and fix it. Iaquinta earned a split decision victory over Jury, giving Urijah Faber’s team his first victory over Dominick Cruz. Faber and Cruz each were upset over the long wait, especially Faber, who thought it helped Jury recover. I would not think this would happen again, especially with White making such bold statements about it.

Posted in: round, network, faber, myles jury, fighters coaches

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Despite a delay in its plans to get a network off the ground, the WWE is still working on developing an over the air network. Originally, the WWE had planned the network to launch in conjunction with Wrestlemania this Sunday. The WWE’s CMO, Michelle Wilson, indicated to the News Times (a local paper in Connecticut) that the WWE is in late stage negotiations with a distributor.  Its goal is to reach 50 million viewers with its network.  Wilson stated that the WWE would charge a subscription fee from each distributor.  Wilson’s comments addressed concerns in a New York Post article which identified the delay for the network noting the difficulties faced by the WWE. The WWE recently posted a disappointing 4th Quarter with substantial losses from its film division – another WWE venture which has been the brunt of the financial freefall by the company.  It also spent $4 million on building the network in Q4. But the fact remains that the network must turn a profit sooner than later.  Analyst Michael Kupinski emphasized the need for this to the News Times: “It appears that the company will bear much of the cost. They have soft fundamentals, and the cable channel could lose money for a period of years,” he said, adding that having a financial partner would help. Kupinski had previously said developing the new cable network could cost $10 million to $15 million. The network would need to convince distributors that it would attract viewers and advertisers for it to catch on. It may be hard to attract a financial partner with the current economic climate and the fact that the WWE, like the UFC, enjoys control over its product. Payout Perspective: Looking at the financial losses the WWE’s film division has had would give pause to distributors and investors about the potential success of the WWE network.  It appears that the launching the network at Wrestlemania was ambitious at best.  Despite great ratings from its television shows, producing 24/7 content will need to attract more viewers than its core wrestling audience.  While the WWE owns a vast library (which would be great for nostalgic wrestling fans), original content and WWE films might not get the job done. The WWE is cultivating its content on its YouTube channel but we will see if this translate to over the air success. Time (and its balance sheet) will tell whether the network will get off the ground and when.

Posted in: wwe, viewer, network, content, distributor

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UFC President Dana White confirms that the debut episode of TUF Brazil drew 12 million viewers, while also calling a rival network out on their dirty ploy to ruin the show.

Posted in: ufc, network, brazil, debut episode, tuf brazil

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With Wrestlemania one week away, the WWE is pulling out all the stops in ensuring that the biggest event of its year gets the full promotional treatment. The WWE is airing a one hour “Once in a Lifetime – Rock vs. Cena” special utilizing NBC Universal’s television power. The first ever WWE behind-the-scenes-style look at the two main eventers will also air on Syfy, Bravo, E!, Oxygen, G4, Style, NBC Sports Network, mun2, CLOO and Universal HD. Via WWE press release: This lifestyle special is a candid and compelling look at two of the biggest icons in sports entertainment history as they prepare for their Once in a Lifetime main event match. From touring and training on the road to Hollywood movie sets to the 54th Annual Daytona 500, this in-depth look with exclusive footage gives viewers unprecedented access and a glimpse into the personal lives of these men. The special will premiere on the USA Network one hour before Raw this Monday night. Payout Perspective: Putting aside your personal thoughts about pro wrestling, this is an interesting look at how the WWE has been influenced by the UFC. The WWE has had behind-the-scenes looks at wrestlers. Most of these happen when they are doing charity work or are visiting the US Troops in the Middle East. It will be interesting to see how the WWE will produce this special as it’s being billed as a “countdown” style look at Rock and Cena. The television special also shows the advantage of the WWE’s partnership with the NBC Network as it can play its special over multiple network partners. Sound familiar? The UFC has taken advantage of the network synergy in promoting its events. Of course, having the Rock as one of its key characters in the special will help with ratings.  Is this a new level of promotion for the WWE or is the WWE concerned with how the PPV will do next week?

Posted in: wwe, network, hour “, nbc network, charity work

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The WWE announced its Q4 2011 results on Thursday and the earnings were described as disappointing. WWE earnings were lower for the fifth straight quarter. The main culprit for the poor performance of the company was its film division and television licensing decisions according to Vince McMahon. In addition, costs from starting the WWE Network were cited as reasons for the softening of its earnings. With respect to its film division, McMahon indicated that the company would utilize different strategies to try to bolster the division’s profitability but if that did not work, the WWE would be out of the film business. The WWE lost $12.2 million in the Q4 alone due to film impairment charges. The television licensing decisions were based on the WWE’s decision not to distribute two of its properties, WWE Superstars and NXT, which have been showing online. Via WWE press release: Revenues totaled $112.9 million as compared to $122.5 million in the prior year quarter. Operating loss was ($13.1) million as compared to Operating income of $14.4 million in the prior year quarter. Net loss was ($8.6) million, or ($0.12) per share, as compared to Net income of $8.1 million, or $0.11 per share, in the prior year quarter. Excluding the impact of film impairments and network related expenses in the current year quarter, Adjusted Operating income was $3.1 million as compared to $14.4 million in the prior year quarter. Adjusted Net income was $1.8 million, or $0.02 per share, as compared to $8.1 million, or $0.11 per share, in the prior year quarter. The WWE spent $4 million in Q4 on the creation of the WWE Network. However, the position on rolling out the new network was uncertain. On the positive side, McMahon said during the earnings call that live attendance was up 7% for the quarter. Yet, this may be due to the fact that there were 11 fewer events in the quarter. The PPV revenues were up 2% from 2010’s Q4 and up 6% over 2011. However, this can be seen as the result of a strong Wrestlemania PPV which is likely due in part to the return of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. (H/t: Seeking Alpha) Payout Perspective: While overall revenues were up from 2010, it was mainly due to the success of Wrestlemania 27. It also looks like the WWE may need to see a significant turnaround if it wants to remain in the movie business otherwise it may continue to see huge losses. The gloomy numbers may mean some downsizing of the WWE talent roster which traditionally comes after Wrestlemania. The other notable news coming out of the earnings call was McMahon’s description of the WWE Network as “potential creation” of the network. This is interesting considering the prior hype for the network which included commercials for it on Raw and the initial belief that it would roll out by Wrestlemania this year. It looks like the WWE wants to make sure it gets it right before unveiling it. However, its sunk $4.0 million alone this quarter into the creation of the network and has committed staff and other startups to this venture in prior quarters. It will be interesting to see how the WWE will try to turn things around. Based on the great  performance and impact last year’s Wrestlemania had on the WWE earnings, it will hope that this year’s Wrestlemania on April 1 will produce more of the same.

Posted in: year, wwe, network, quarter, earning

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The Sherdog Radio Network goes live Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

Posted in: pm, radio, pt, network, ian

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The Sherdog Radio Network goes live Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

Posted in: radio, pt, network, beatdown, ian

Read the full article at Sherdog

The Sports Business Journal reported on the drop in ratings of NBC Sports Network as it rolled out its new name and brand last month. The article also comments on the fact that NBC found it difficult finding advertisers for the UFC when it was on the network. For those that don’t know, NBC Sports Network was known as Versus prior to its re-branding at the start of the year. The SBJ article (subscription required) stated that NBC had a hard time finding advertisers for the UFC. Yet, UFC programming averaged 124,000 viewers on Versus. These ratings doubled the average for the channel. The article also states that the loss of the UFC has hurt NBC Sports Network ratings. Still, NBC described the UFC as “off brand,” a show that brought ratings but the network had a hard time finding a way to monetize it. Payout Perspective: While the UFC portion of the NBC Sports Network article was a small example compared to the overall theme of the article which was the slow start for the network, its an interesting take of the pull of the UFC. Its also an example of the obstacles the UFC still faces in trying to appeal to mainstream advertisers. We will see in the coming year if the UFC has problems on Fox, FX or Fuel with retaining and obtaining mainstream advertisers.

Posted in: ufc, sport, network, nbc, advertiser

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The Sherdog Radio Network goes live at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

Posted in: jake, pm, radio, network, king

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The Sherdog Radio Network goes live at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

Posted in: jake, radio, pt, network, king

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To many networks, the UFC on Fuel 1 TV ratings were modest, but they were record-setting for Fuel, unlocking untapped potential for the extreme sports network.

Posted in: rating, tv, network, fuel tv, fuel

Read the full article at MMA Weekly

Will boxing ever make it back to network TV? Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports reports on the possibility of boxing returning to network TV. Showtime sports head Stephen Espinoza is optimistic about seeing boxing back in the mainstream and even opined that it may happen this year. Via Yahoo! Sports: “There’s a decent chance of it, maybe even a good chance of it happening, in fact,” Espinoza said. “Boxing, for all of its challenges, still has a very loyal fan base, especially in the Latino and African-American demographics. Boxing has shown that, at its highest level, boxing can capture the mainstream sports, and non-sports, population. Payout Perspective: We saw the return of boxing, albeit just 30 minute fight promos, to CBS with Showtime’s 360 series which promoted the Mosley-Pacquiao fight. With the new use of partnerships (i.e., Showtime-CBS) and the seeming trend for live sports as key programming, boxing could make it back to over the air television. If you think about it, snowboarding, skateboarding and even poker have been on network television in the past year yet we haven’t seen a big fight in quite some time. Yesterday, we looked at whether boxing should change its business model. Showing fights on network television to promote the sport and its fighters could build and sustain a following. While promoters remain optimistic, nothing has been set. NBC Sports Network’s quarterly show is a good step in the right direction but promoters realize that the big money remains in PPV and the two premium cable channels.

Posted in: fight, sport, boxing, network television, network

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Dave Metzler’s Wrestling Observer reports that Cox Communications is offering a lower-tier channel alternative for its subscribers. If this model is followed by other cable providers, it could mean less viewers for fans of MMA and pro wrestling. According to the Wrestling Observer (subscription requried), the lower tier service Cox is offering includes the networks, local affiliates and major networks which include WGN, TBS, CNN, Galavision and USA. The package is offered at $35 a month. ESPN, Spike TV, SyFy, FX, MTV and likely Fuel would not be carried on this tier. Instead, these channels would be available on a $60 a month package. Metzler points out that the lower-tier option could curtail the amount of fans that MMA fans could garner through television. The question will be how many subscribers will move to the lower tier and how many cable providers will follow the model outlined by Cox. Payout Perspective: The Cox economy cable model seems like it would hurt Bellator more than it would impact the UFC. With the UFC-Fox relationship, viewers subscribing to the new Cox tier would still have the Fox network fights.  If Spike is shut out of the lower tier, it would mean that Bellator would only be available online to those without access to the network. Still, much of the UFC’s content will be on FX and Fuel so those subscribers would be missing out on most UFC programming. This is a sign of the impact the economy is having on consumers as some will seek to curtail their cable bill by moving to a lower tier. With some consumers cord-cutting a lower priced cable tier seems like a reasonable way some cable providers will look at in trying to retain subscribers.

Posted in: network, cable, tier, cox, cable providers

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Good news for fight fans expecting to be left in the dark this Wednesday night. The upcoming UFC on FUEL TV: "Sanchez vs. Ellenberger" fight card, emanating from the Omaha Civic Auditorium on Feb. 15, 2012, in Omaha, Nebraska, will be available as part of the network's free preview beginning TONIGHT (FEB. 13) at 7 p.m. ET with "UFC Reloaded." As the network says, now's the time to UFC'it. On Fight Night, the network will be airing five straight hours of LIVE fight programming, including a one-hour live Prefight Show (7:00 PM ET), three hours of live fighting, and a one-hour live Postfight show (11:00 PM ET). In addition, the network presents an entire Fight Week featuring all the best UFC programming including signature shows like "UFC Tonight," "UFC Ultimate Insider," "Best of Pride," "UFC Champions Roundtable" and more. More details, after the jump. "As a salute to UFC fans, FUEL TV will telecast an unprecedented amount of UFC programming - more than 100 hours' worth - this week," says George Greenberg, Executive Vice President and General Manager, FUEL TV. "If you're a UFC fan, this is a must-see week highlighted by an amazing must-watch live fight on Wednesday night. Fans should check with their local television provider to see if the special preview is available so they can take advantage FUEL TV's Fight Week upgrade opportunity." UFC on Fuel TV 1 will be headlined by a welterweight war featuring top division contenders Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger facing off for a spot in the crowded 170-pound title chase. Stefan Struve and Dave Herman are also set to return to the Octagon for a heavyweight showdown in the co-featured fight of the night. For more on UFC on Fuel TV: "Sanchez vs. Ellenberger" be sure to check out our complete event archive right here.

Posted in: ufc, fight, tv, network, fuel

Read the full article at MMA Mania

MMA Junkie reports Fuel TV will have a free preview week which coincides with Fuel TV’s first UFC event this week. The network hopes that the additional exposure will equate to more subscriptions. This week’s free preview will give 43 million homes the opportunity to see Fuel TV programming. This includes this week’s UFC on Fuel 1 event Wednesday. Fuel TV execs hope that the preview will increase awareness of the network. Since the UFC-Fuel relationship began on New Year’s day, execs for the network have been pleased with the numbers. Via MMA Junkie: “Percentage-wise in primetime, we’re actually killing it,” said George Greenberg, FUEL TV’s executive vice president and general manager. “Our target audience of men 18-49 since January, it’s up over 80 percent. Our primetime viewers are up almost 230 percent.” From the outset of the new deal, FX and FUEL TV have been targeted as the major beneficiaries of UFC programming. FUEL TV is set to offer 2000 hours of programming this year including six live events and pre- and post-event shows, and Greenberg said his hope is to have more. Payout Perspective: The hope is that major TV carriers will pick up Fuel as a network when the network is set to renegotiate this fall. As Dana White points out in the article, its the hope that the Fuel TV ratings, fueled (pun intended) by UFC programming, will attract carriers to pick up the network. Although the Fuel ratings are lower than Spike TV, it looks like the UFC-Fuel relationship has impacted the network in a positive way. This week’s preview should help garner more interest in the channel.

Posted in: week, tv, preview, network, fuel

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Overall viewership for UFC on Fox 2 compared to UFC on Fox 1 may be down, but there were also positive indicators for the MMA juggernaut’s sophomore effort on “Big Fox.”

Posted in: ufc, fox, network, indicator, sophomore

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Bellator Fighting Championships' upcoming sixth season will air on the Armed Forces Network. Bellator officials today announced the plans, extending a partnership originally formed in 2010. "It is an honor for us to be able to continue to provide Bellator programming to the men and women of The U.S. Armed Forces," Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney stated. "To be able to give back to them, even a little bit is something I am pleased we can do."

Posted in: bellator, something i, network, force, bellator programming

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UFC on Fox 2 might not have provided as much action as some had hoped, but the event did manage to draw a better rating than the network’s previous month of Saturday primetime programming.

Posted in: ufc, rating, network, primetime, network ’s

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Bellator Fighting Championships has once again partnered with the Armed Forces Network, including it's season six opener on March 9.

Posted in: bellator, championship, network, force, forces network

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CHICAGO, Ill. (January 30, 2011) - In a continuing effort to bring premier sports and entertainment to those who serve in the United States Armed Forces, Bellator Fighting Championships has once again partnered with the Armed Forces Network, extending a relationship that was formed in 2010. For the approximately one million service members and their families deployed to 175 countries around the world that depend on AFN, Bellator's sixth season and beyond will be able to be seen via the Armed Forces Network, including Bellator's March 9 premier from The Venue at The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. Tickets for this event are on sale and are available at The Horseshoe Casino, Ticketmaster, www.thevenue-chicago.com, or by calling 1-800-745-3000. "It is an honor for us to be able to continue to provide Bellator programming to the men and women of The United States Armed Forces," Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. "The strength and courage displayed by the men and women of our armed forces is admirable at the highest level. To be able to give back to them, even a little bit is something I am pleased we can do." With over 10 years of service in the United States Army, Bellator Heavyweight Tournament Finalist Eric Prindle is well aware of the importance of the AFN. "When you are stationed overseas, being able to sit down and watch sports or a big fight like Bellator brings back a piece a home, and allows you to keep doing your job," Prindle said. "It's a tremendous honor to know I've got the soldiers watching me fight, and I can promise in my rematch with Thiago Santos, I won't let them down." For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

Posted in: bellator, network, force, state, forces network

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TV By the Numbers reports the overnight ratings for UFC on Fox 2 as it clearly won its timeslot among the networks with a 2.2 rating and a 7 share with an estimated 4.373 million viewer average. The numbers may be adjusted (and likely upward) due to the nature of live programming according to TV By the Numbers. The timeslot victory may be tempered considering it was the only live original network programming during the timeslot and US Figure Skating Championships – a sport with more of a niche audience (outside of the Olympics) than MMA – was the only other live programming on any of the networks. Payout Perspective: The numbers are off from the first Fox event in November when those numbers totaled a 3.1 rating with 5.7 million viewers with a peak of 8.8 million viewers. Its unlikely that we’ll see that high of a peak here. The West Coast tape delay and overrun may help with the final tally for the ratings. UFC on Fox 1 was only 1 hour and was more of a novelty for the casual viewer. We shall see what the final results are for the UFC’s second time on the network. Unfortunately, not a lot of action to cheer for on the network show as the three fights wouldn’t appeal to someone watching MMA for the first time. It will be interesting how the UFC will work to ensure exciting fights next time out.

Posted in: ufc, rating, viewer, network, number

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The Sports Business Journal reports on the return to the ring of NBC on the rebranded NBC Sports Network formerly known as Versus. Saturday night is the debut of “NBC Sports Network Fight Night,” which will appear quarterly in 2012 on the network. NBCSN will work with Main Events as its promotional company to produce quality fights. It already has had an obstacle to overcome as its original main event was scrapped due to fighter injury. Main Events replaced the main event with a match between two unknown, but unbeaten heavyweights. The pledge by Main Events is that it will put on competitive fights and will work with other promoters to achieve this goal. According to boxing sources, rights fees will average $150,000 per show which, according to the SBJ, wil “fill a middle-class void that exists between ESPN and the premium cable networks.” With the Comcast-NBC merger, past hurdles in developing fighters and having them move on to HBO, Showtime and PPV are no longer. Main Events CEO Kathy Duva told Sports Business Journal that if fighters leave for premium cable, Comcast still wins. Also, if fighters become PPV stars, Comcast wins too.GoDaddy.com has signed on as a sponsor for the show. Payout Perspective: It will be interesting to see how this show will be received. The Fight Night follows NBCSN’s strategy of live programming being central to its sports network. Its an interesting concept by Main Events and addresses a problem that is common in the boxing industry. As we’ve seen with Mayweather-Pacquiao, the problems of promoters working with each other prohibits good match-ups. We’ll see how the show will present compelling storylines and promote fighters.

Posted in: fight, fighter, sport, event, network

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The veteran fightmaker will pit heavyweights Bryant Jennings and Maurice Byarm in the first of a quarterly fight series.

Posted in: sport, network, maurice byarm, veteran fightmaker, byarm

Read the full article at Yahoo! Sports

The UFC’s first preliminary bout telecast on the FX Network clearly shows that fans aren’t yet used to the promotion’s switch to the Fox family of networks.

Posted in: network, ufc ’s, fx network, fox family, bout telecast

Read the full article at MMA Weekly

Strikeforce will continue to appear on Showtime in 2012, broadcasting between six and eight live events on the premium cable network.

Posted in: strikeforce, event, showtime, network, premium

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[div class="notice" class2="icon"]The following is from an article on LiverKick.com, part of the MiddleEasy Network.[/div] Some good news came this morning for fans of Kickboxing in the United States as Fight Code made an announcement that they have finally begun their advance on the United States. Their "big" announcement is that they have inked a television deal within the United States. Now, before you get overly excited about this prospect, the deal is with the network Fight Now TV, a network that currently only airs on the cable provider Cablevision, who has a subscription base of around 3.5 million. Fight Now TV currently does not offer any sort of streaming option and has a rather small reach compared to a network like HDnet who is home to a lot of combat sports or other, larger cable networks. It is a first step, though, and will be interesting to see where they go from here. Read More...

Posted in: fight, combat sports, network, state, cable networks

Read the full article at Middle Easy

Fuel TV will all but become the "UFC Network" when the New Year dawns.

Posted in: ufc, tv, network, fuel, ufc network

Read the full article at Yahoo! Sports

UFC President Dana White today announced that Strikeforce will likely continue to appear on premium cable network Showtime in 2012, revealing that a deal between the parties was close to being reached.

Posted in: strikeforce, showtime, network, premium, cable

Read the full article at Sherdog

The WWE Network is set to launch on April 1st of next year. The Sports Business Journal reports that its in talks with In Demand and other cable operators to carry the network. The WWE expects to reach 40 million homes with its network which would have the same reach as Fuel TV and the Fox Soccer Channel. However, it must reach carriage agreements with satellite and cable operators including Cox, Comcast and Time Warner. Its expected that the WWE will follow the same model as other sports networks by having live events on its network. Notably, some of the WWE’s current PPVs will move over to the network. The SBJ article notes that the WWE is considering programming beyond wrestling and there’s a possibility it would include some team sports. In addition to the WWE Network on satellite and cable, it will also have a channel on YouTube. Payout Perspective: As the WWE network takes shape, it will be interesting to see how many PPVs will migrate to the network. As Cageside Seats suggests, the converted PPVs could be a value add to attract viewers to the network. By subtracting PPVs and leaving only its big draw PPVs (i.e., Wrestlemania, Survivor Series, Summerslam and Royal Rumble) it could help bolster PPV buys. Its interesting to note that the UFC’s model differs from the WWE as the UFC relies on its PPVs whereas it appears that the WWE will focus on building its network through moving its PPVs to the WWE network. This is a good idea considering the content of some of the WWE PPVs were not PPV quality. As such, it has been reflective in its PPV buys. As the WWE Network is taking shape, the biggest hurdle seems to be striking a deal with the satellite and cable operators to come to a deal that will land it on a tier that would be attractive to the casual viewer. Comcast has taken the lead in negotiating a deal on behalf of the WWE. This is likely due to the popular WWE Raw being on the USA Network, a Comcast property.

Posted in: ppv, wwe, network, wwe network, cable operators

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Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® announced today that four UFC® 140: JONES vs. MACHIDA preliminary fights will air live on the ION Television network on Saturday, Dec. 10 beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The fights are: Krzysztof Sozynski vs. Igor Pokrajac in a light heavyweight contest; Jared Hamman vs. Costa Phillippou in a middleweight bout; John Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman in 155-pound action; Yves Jabouin vs. Walel Watson in a bantamweight bout.Saturday’s UFC 140 prelims will reach almost 100 million U.S. households, giving UFC fans the opportunity to watch four exciting UFC bouts leading in to the Pay-Per-View event.“We are excited to give UFC fans four great fights live and free on ION Television this Saturday,” UFC President Dana White said. “We always try to give fans free fights on TV and this is just another example.”To find the ION Television channel in your area, visit http://www.iontelevision.com/.UFC®140: JONES vs. MACHIDA, which takes place Saturday, Dec. 10 from Air Canada Centre in Toronto, will be available live on Pay-Per-View at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, BellTV, ShawTV, SaskTel,Viewer’s Choice Canada and Canal Indigo for a suggested retail price of $44.99 US/$54.99 CAN for Standard Definition and $54.99 US/$59.99 CAN for High Definition.In the night’s main event, reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones defends his crown against former titleholder Lyoto Machida. Plus, heavyweights Frank Mir and Antonio Minotauro Nogueira collide, while former light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz battles Rogerio Nogueira.For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com. All bouts live and subject to change.About Ultimate Fighting Championship®Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® is the world’s premier MMA organization and produces over 12 UFC live Pay-Per-View events annually around the globe.  UFC content is distributed commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. In 2012, FOX will broadcast four fights annually. In spring 2012, The Ultimate Fighter®, UFC’s signature weekly reality TV show, debuts on FX. Globally, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, reaching a half a billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages.UFC® also boasts a powerful presence online, with UFC.com attracting over seven million unique visitors per month, while also possessing one of the most powerful social media followings in all of professional sports. To date, UFC has over six million fans on Facebook and over 400,000 followers on Twitter.  In addition, UFC President Dana White is one of the most accessible and most followed executives in sports with more than 1.7 million followers on Twitter.  On January 22, 2011, UFC continued to set trends in social media, becoming the first major sports league to stream live, broadcast quality action on Facebook.Ancillary businesses include best-selling DVDs, a magazine, the best-selling UFC “Undisputed” videogame franchise distributed by THQ, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel, trading cards, and articulated action figures.About ION TelevisionION Television is a leading U.S. general entertainment network, combining high-quality programming and dependable broadcast distribution with an attitude of innovation and growth normally associated with a cable channel.  Its "Positively Entertaining" network brand positioning features a formula of proven series, an expansive catalog of blockbuster movies and a commitment to introduce new original programming.  Since its recent launch in 2008, ION’s reach has grown to 99 million households and has become one of the top-15 TV rated U.S. networks in record time.  For more information, visit www.iontelevision.com.

Posted in: ufc, fight, vs, network, ion

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MTV will broadcast a new mixed martial arts-themed program beginning early in 2012, the network announced on Thursday.

Posted in: mtv, network, artsthemed program, mma docuseries, artsthemed

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Boxing will be a new addition to NBC Sports programming in 2012. NBC Sports Network (now known as Versus until 2012) will debut NBC Sports Network Fight Night on Saturday night January 21, 2012 from Philadelphia. The Fight Nights will be produced on a quarterly basis with fight nights in January, March, June and December in 2012. Via NBC Sports Network press release: NBC Sports Group will work with Main Events (Promotions) and Hall-of-Fame matchmaker J Russell Peltz on a multi-promoter strategy for NBC Sports Network Fight Night designed to produce the best quality fights. It is a strategy in which any promoter can participate to get their boxers involved in these programs. “This is a unique approach to have multiple promoters competing to put fights on NBC Sports Network,” said Jon Miller, President, programming, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. “That, coupled with the legendary matchmaker J Russell Peltz serving as our quality control expert, ensures that boxing fans will enjoy exciting and competitive matches.” (H/t: Bad Left Hook and Boxing Insider) Payout Perspective: It was once rumored that the UFC would land with NBC/Versus. It looks like NBC Sports has chosen boxing to bolster its sports content for 2012. This will be interesting to see how it will compete with HBO, Showtime and ESPN offerings of boxing programming. The multi-promoter approach will be another interesting component of its Fight Nights. How much will NBC Sports Network be able to promote these fighters for a casual audience to tune in? Will NBC Sports invest programming to market the fighters prior to the Fight Nights? We will see how successful these programs will be for the NBC Sports Network and whether it will expand in the future.

Posted in: fight, night, sport, network, nbc

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) may have a stranglehold on stateside mixed martial arts (MMA), but overseas, the competition may prove to be a bit stiffer. That's because the Japanese promotion DREAM has entered a deal to become part of Asia's ONE FC network under owner Victor Cui. While nothing is official at this time, sources with knowledge of the sitaution are calling it "imminent." MMA Weekly first reported the partnership earlier today. In addition to ESPN Star Sports, promotions under the ONE FC network, including Australia's Cage Fighting Championship (CFC) and Korea's Road FC, will also be televised on a number of major domestic channels across networks in multiple countries. Simply put, there's going to be a lot of MMA to watch in Asia, which will help DREAM improve its global profile and in turn, have some of its bigger-name stars in Japan appear Internationally through cross promotion. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more details on this developing story as they become available.

Posted in: mma, promotion, network, fc, fc network

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[div class="notice" class2="icon"]The following is from an article on MMA-Japan, part of the MiddleEasy Network.[/div] There we have it - DREAM and OneFC have a partnership. Sources out of Japan confirmed with MMA-JAPAN that the two organizations have indeed agreed to a partnership. Here is the scope of it: Both sides have agreed to a copromotion at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in March. A couple of DREAM fighters will be on the February OneFC card Indonesia. DREAM should have 4-6 shows in 2012 - a big uptick from last year OneFC will do 8-12 shows across Asia The OneFC Network will now have at least 40 shows in 2012 The OneFC Network has now signed another 21 EXCLUSIVE partners to it's network bringing it to a total of 38 of the top Asian MMA promotions and gyms in Asia, or 90% of this. Read more...

Posted in: dream, network, onefc, onefc network, dream fighters

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Filed under: UFC, UFC on FOXShort but sweet. That's one way to describe the 64-second Junior dos Santos-Cain Velasquez fight on FOX this past Saturday. At least, that's how it must look to the UFC and the network now that the revised ratings info is out. According to SI.com, the hour-long broadcast began with 5.2 million viewers, then peaked with 8.802 million viewers during the brief but violent contest for the UFC heavyweight strap. If you're struggling to put those figures in perspective, this means that dos Santos-Velasquez is the most watched MMA fight in history, knocking off the Kimbo Slice-James Thompson brawl on CBS, which lasted about ten times as long and peaked with two million fewer viewers. But while the numbers give the UFC and FOX reason to smile about the newfound partnership, there's a lesson in these stats as well. For starters, look at the ratings arc. The show began with around 5.2 million viewers, according to SI.com, and then proceeded to lose eyeballs during the 30-plus minutes of pre-fight promo pieces and analysis. That number jumped way up when the fight finally started, then immediately started to decline once it was over. By the time Velasquez was face down on the canvas, viewers were on their way out. Four minutes after the end of the fight, the show was down to six million viewers and falling. In other words, even network TV viewers are far more interested in action than in talk, and breathless post-fight analysis is the surest way to send them scrambling for the remote. If you're Dana White or Fox Sports Media Group Chairman David Hill, here's where you've got to be wondering how big a number you could have had if the fight had only lasted a round or two. You've also got to be wondering about the wisdom of broadcasting just the one fight. Hindsight being what it is, it's easy to say that the Ben Henderson-Clay Guida fight would have been a ratings magnet as a lead-in for JDS-Velasquez, but that doesn't make it any less true. A jump in numbers like the one FOX saw means that people were likely on the phone or the internet, telling their friends that the fighters were finally on their way to the cage and it was time to tune in. Imagine if those same people had been reaching out to one another during the seesaw bout between the two lightweights, encouraging their friends to get in on this appetizer before the main event. Could it have broken 10 million viewers? Maybe. Probably. Would it have made the 64-second ending to the heavyweight scrap seem more like an exciting change of pace and less like a long climb for a short slide? Definitely. Again, it's easy to say that now that we know how the fights turned out, but at the same time, is anyone surprised to learn that so many viewers wanted more fighting and less talking? If the UFC and FOX are smart, they'll use this as a learning experience. Granted, they won't always feel the need to do so much viewer education once this is no longer a network TV novelty, but clearly it's the action that brings the viewers. Once the fists start flying, that's when people start watching. As much as people might love his product, viewers are far more interested in seeing it for themselves than in hearing Dana White shout about it after the fact. Still, if the UFC can pull 8.8 million viewers on network TV for a fight that barely lasted long enough for fans to compose a decent text message to their friends, imagine what it will pull once the deal begins in earnest and it can put together a show that's more than just a teaser. If your biggest problem is that you leave your audience wanting more after your network debut, maybe you don't have that many problems. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: ufc, fight, fox, viewer, network

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today announced a pair of upcoming bouts for its UFC on FX network debut, currently scheduled for January 2012, though an exact date and location have yet to be revealed. From UFC.com: A welterweight bout with fight of the year potential will unfold as Josh ‘The Dentist’ Neer and Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig have verbally agreed to meet in the new year. In addition, a heavyweight showdown has been verbally agreed to for with Christian Morecraft taking on Pat ‘HD’ Barry." City, date and international viewing information will be made available shortly. Today's announcement comes less than one week removed from the UFC on FOX: "Velasquez vs. Dos Santos" network television event, held on Nov. 12 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. FX will also carry season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), among other things. Barry (6-4) is coming off back-to-back losses to Cheick Kongo and Stefan Struve. The stocky and cocky kickboxer may not be on the chopping block just yet, but a third consecutive loss certainly won't do him any favors, either. Matt Mitrione entered the "World of Morecraft" and left with a knockout win back at UFC on Versus 4, dropping Morecraft (7-2) to just 1-2 inside the Octagon. A loss in "HD" and it's likely curtains on his Zuffa career. Also fighting for a spot on the roster -- albeit a much higher one -- is Josh Neer (32-10-1). The welterweight "Dentist" has strung together five straight wins, all of them stoppages, including a technical knockout finish over Keith Wisniewski just last month. He'll get his favorite type of opponent after the new year, someone who likes to stand and "Bang," as Duane Ludwig (21-11) is riding high after outperforming Nick Osipczak and Amir Sadollah in recent bouts. Four tough competitors, two great fights. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more details on the UFC on FX debut, which is part of the promotion's seven year, $100 million broadcast agreement with the FOX network, as they become available.

Posted in: ufc, fx, year, network, morecraft

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submitted by MattyBlayze [link] [2 comments]

Posted in: ufc, network, octagon, network tv, mattyblayze

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A mixed reaction to the Mixed Martial Arts network debt of UFC on Fox broadcast network TV.

Posted in: ufc, fox, network, reaction, mediainsider fallout

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The UFC's first fight live on network TV didn't last very long, but it was still a great moment for the sport.

Posted in: ufc, fox, brydon, tv, network

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Junior dos Santos needed just 64 seconds to take the UFC heavyweight title from Cain Velasquez in the company's network TV debut.

Posted in: ufc, title, do, velasquez, network

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Tonight's the night... for UFC to go big on Fox broadcast network.

Posted in: night, mmasupremacy, network, middleeasy, broadcast

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Luke Thomas examines how Fox has used sports as a key part of their growth as a network and if the UFC partnership will continue that history. Read it at MMA Nation.

Posted in: fox, luke, network, luke thomas, ufc partnership

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Sure we've sponsored DaMarques Johnson in the past, but this time it's on the biggest stage MMA has ever encountered. UFC on FOX is expected to shatter the existing viewership numbers for an MMA event which is currently held by EliteXC, CBS and most importantly -- Kimbo Slice. To sponsor a guy fighting on FOX, the same network that airs Family Guy is a massive honor. Wait, so you're telling me that FOX is only airing one fight tomorrow, even if it lasts 10-seconds? Well, damn. There goes MiddleEasy's hopes for being launched on a large television network. I guess we'll just have to keep pitching our television script that one network has already turned down and the other seems to be too polite to tell us 'no.' Regardless, check out DaMarques Johnson's fresh new baby blue fight shorts with the MiddleEasy logo on the front. Be sure to watch DaMarques Johnson's fight against Clay Harvison which will air internationally, free of charge on Facebook. Be sure to follow DaMarques Johnson on Twitter while you're at it. Besides, your Twitter timeline needs an improvement anyway.

Posted in: fox, johnson, network, damarque, damarques johnson

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Fox promised to roll out the red carpet for the UFC's first event on the network and they weren't kidding.

Posted in: ufc, fox, network, carpet fox, carpet

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There's been a line repeated a lot since the announcement of the UFC on Fox deal and decision to put Cain Velasquez's UFC heavyweight title defense against Junior dos Santos on the first broadcast. That line is usually something involving a return to the days when the heavyweight title was decided on free TV. Dana White even put it in print in a recent column in the Chicago Sun-Times: Not only does this mark our first event on FOX since we announced a multi-year broadcast agreement with the network this past summer, but it marks a return to the glory days for many sports fans. It signals a return to the days when sports' biggest prize - the world heavyweight title - is decided live and free on network television. On today's UFC on Fox media call, White repeated the line again. Saying that this was a return to the Ali vs. Frazier days. This all strikes me as strange since those "glory days" never really existed. Yes, major fights like Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman's "Rumble in the Jungle" did air on ABC....eventually. In the glory days of heavyweight boxing, if you wanted to see a major fight, you were going to pay for it and watch it on closed circuit TV at a designated location. Ali vs. Foreman took place on September 24, 1974 but didn't hit ABC's Wide World of Sports until January 5, 1975. "The Thrilla in Manila" between Ali and Frazier took place October 1, 1975 but didn't air on ABC until January 11, 1976, instead airing on HBO. The legendary call by Howard Cosell of "Down goes Frazier!" in the bout between Smokin' Joe and Foreman is often mistakenly thought of as being on network TV but it was actually HBO's first World Championship Boxing broadcast.  The idea of putting a major title fight on network TV has never been an overly appealing one to fight promoters. The last time a heavyweight title was fought for on network TV was actually in 1996 when Michael Moorer fought Axel Schulz for the IBF crown. Moorer had picked up a win to get back on track after his shocking upset loss to the returning Foreman. Foreman then ducked a bout with Tony Tucker in favor of middle of the road challenger Schulz. Foreman won an absolute robbery of a decision over Schulz and then vacated his title as he chose to duck a rematch and fight unranked and undeserving Crawford Grimsley, a man whose previous 5 opponents sported a combined 45-117-2 record. German network RTL outbid HBO to the main rights to the Schulz vs. Moorer bout but somehow ABC was able to score the rights to air it on U.S. network TV for an incredibly low sum. This was far from a glory filled match-up the networks and fans were dying to see, it was more of a matter of opportunity. Also in 1996 a Larry Holmes vs. Anthony Willis fight (no title on the line) on CBS tanked in the ratings on Father's Day, mainly because nobody cared to see that fight. And in 1995 a fight with no title on the line between Mike Tyson and Buster Mathis, Jr. aired on Fox. The Tyson/Mathis fight was an attempt at a PR move by Don King after ripping fans off with Tyson knocking out Peter McNeeley in under a minute and a half on PPV earlier in the year. The point here is that the UFC is doing something great. They're not taking quite the loss financially that they're playing up in the media by putting Velasquez vs. dos Santos on network TV, this is not a fight that would have sold 800,000 PPV buys. It also is a long term commercial for future PPV's that they're effectively being paid to put on by Fox. But this is also a unique and rare situation in the history of professional combat sports. Rarely, if ever, has a heavyweight title fight of this legitimacy and importance been put live on free network TV. Since JDS and Cain aren't exactly setting the world on fire in the build-up to the event, maybe this is a fact that the UFC could stand to put a little more emphasis on.

Posted in: fight, title, tv, network, network tv

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Ben Fowlkes discusses the UFC's foray into network television for our friends at MMAFighting.com.

Posted in: ufc, network television, network, fowlke, ufcs foray

Read the full article at Heavy MMA

Filed under: UFC, UFC on FOXMake no mistake: the UFC on Fox is a landmark event, and it is a very, very big deal for the UFC and its fans. But it's not quite an industry pioneer. Not by a long shot. A live MMA event on network TV? Sorry UFC, but it's been done. Not particularly well, but still. Before there was the UFC on FOX, there was EliteXC: Primetime. Before Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos agreed to meet for the UFC heavyweight title on network TV, Kimbo Slice and James Thompson introduced America to their own interpretation of MMA on CBS. Like many trailblazing efforts in other fields, this was an imperfect foray into the unknown. Let's just say mistakes were made, lessons were learned, and both EliteXC and CBS found out that sometimes it hurts to go first. This was late May, 2008. Compared to today's MMA landscape, the field of battle was positively littered with would-be competitors to the UFC. The IFL had a pre-taped weekly spot on MyNetworkTV -- at the time one of the consistently lowest-rated English-language networks -- airing weeks-old fights and highlight reels. Strikeforce had a similarly pre-taped, extremely late-night (or, more accurately, early morning) show on NBC at 2 a.m., following "Poker After Dark." Even clothier-turned-promoter Affliction was getting ready to jump into the MMA scene with a bloated payroll and a recklessly ambitious business plan. And then there was EliteXC. First announced in 2006, the upstart organization put on its first fight in 2007 at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss. It wasn't the most auspicious of beginnings, particularly for an event entitled "Destiny" -- the main event ended in a disqualification loss for Frank Shamrock after he illegally kneed Renzo Gracie in the head several times -- but with a main card on Showtime and an undercard streaming on Pro Elite website, it was perhaps a sign of things to come for the MMA industry as a whole. More Coverage: UFC on FOX Fight Card | UFC on FOX Results On May 31, 2008, EliteXC brought a live MMA event to primetime network television for the first time in American TV history. The aptly named "Primetime" event went down in Newark's Prudential Center, and was loaded with EliteXC's most marketable stars, including Kimbo Slice, Gina Carano, Robbie Lawler, and Phil Baroni. From the very beginning, the big network debut wasn't exactly a Swiss watch. Carano missed weight badly for her fight with Kaitlin Young, and didn't seem especially thrilled about being on the card at all. The event was headlined by former internet brawler Kimbo Slice (who had just two pro MMA fights at the time) taking on journeyman heavyweight James Thompson (who was riding a two-fight losing streak and had been knocked out in five of his last eight bouts). The main event pairing was panned by many fans and pundits, particularly since the undercard featured a legitimately attemtion-worthy middleweight title bout between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith, but the rationale behind it seemed obvious enough. Here was Slice, an internet novelty act who had sprang into a sudden, bizarre form of fame capable only in the age of the internet, taking on a Brit with a glass jaw who at least looked the part to people who didn't know better. Slice would knock him out in front of millions of new viewers, all of whom would be instantly hooked on this new-fangled MMA stuff, and CBS and EliteXC would both scoop up their enormous piles of money and go home. As you probably already know, it didn't go down like that. The good news was, the millions of viewers showed up. The bad news was what they saw when they got there. Dancing girls, some not quite primetime-worthy performances, and, strangely, not all that much action. As Yahoo! columnist Kevin Iole pointed out later, "after the show had been on the air for 32 minutes, there had been 61 seconds of actual fighting. When it was 70 minutes into the show, there had been just 2:12 of fighting." CBS would have reason to regret that, since the Slice-Thompson main event didn't even get underway until well after the show was scheduled to end. By the time the sloppy heavyweight affair finally ended -- and with a highly questionable stoppage that gave Slice the victory, no less -- EliteXC had run over by nearly an hour in its network debut. It also hadn't made too many friends. Newspaper columnists and radio hosts around the country heaped various amounts of scorn on CBS for airing the spectacle. Even then-governor of New York David Paterson admitted to listening to the broadcast over the radio, though he was apparently unimpressed with descriptions of Thompson's cauliflower ear popping as a result of a Slice punch. Perhaps least surprisingly, UFC president Dana White slammed the effort as "disgusting." Said White: "You can hate me, you can say whatever you want about me. I've been busting my ass for the last ten years in this sport, and there's a lot of great athletes in this sport...and last night was a [expletive] joke. Did it set us back? I don't know. I did Sportscenter today, where some guy's saying this stuff shouldn't even be on television. I agree. What happened last night should not be on [expletive] television, especially network television. But you can't say that about the real fighters in this sport." Of course, that wasn't the death knell for MMA on network TV or even for EliteXC on CBS. On went the show(s), and America hadn't yet seen the last of Kimbo Slice. It's worth noting that then, just as now, the MMA community had high hopes for what network exposure might help the sport accomplish. The Baltimore Sun's Mark Chalifoux said it would be a "moment of truth" for EliteXC and MMA, writing that the "entire MMA-world has a lot riding on this event as it will be the first exposure to MMA for a lot of casual sports fans." Sound familiar? EliteXC promoter Gary Shaw promised it would be "the biggest thing ever to happen to MMA." After "Primetime" on CBS, Shaw said, fighters would be as big as American Idol contestants. "They'll be recognized at airports and Burger Kings," he added. Somehow, I doubt that if James Thompson walked into a Burger King right now his biggest problem would be fending off autograph-seekers. So what's different for the UFC's debut on FOX? In short, everything. Better fighters, probably better production values, and much better pre-fight promotion. While CBS seemed tepid in its support of MMA both with EliteXC and later with Strikeforce, FOX has already thrown its weight behind the UFC, plugging the Velasquez-dos Santos fight on NFL games and World Series broadcasts. If you were eating wings and watching the Packers beat the Chargers on Sunday, there's simply no way you didn't catch at least a half-dozen promos for the UFC on FOX. This event also has simplicity on its side. With just one fight to get done inside of one hour, running long won't be an issue, nor will an overburdened slate that asks new viewers to try and differentiate between multiple fighters and weight classes. If EliteXC's network debut was a three-hour variety act designed to introduce new fans to the sport, the UFC's first FOX outing is more like a band showing up to play its hit single and then getting back on the tour bus. Whether it will leave fans wanting more or simply leave them confused and/or disinterested remains to be seen, and a lot depends on whether Velasquez and dos Santos can live up to the hype and the pressure. At least the UFC chose its fighters based on skill rather than fame. At least it has a partner that really believes in it enough to want to put its name on the product all the time, rather than only when it's convenient. At least it has the experience to pull something like this off, and the promotional savvy to do it right. The UFC might not be the first to make the leap to network TV, but it could still be the best. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: ufc, mma, event, network, elitexc

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The WWE announced its 3rd quarter earnings this past Thursday in a conference call hosted by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and other WWE executives. Despite beating analysts expectations for Q3 earnings, net income for WWE fell to $10.6 million vs. $14.3 million in 2010. The WWE announced that revenues totaled $108.5 million as opposed to $109.6 in 2010. A decline of 1%. Analysts expected adjusted net income of $0.15 per share. WWE announced its adjusted net income as $0.19 per share. One of the bigger questions on the earnings call was the WWE Network announced to debut in 2012. Notably, there was no talk about the recent announcement that there would be a WWE channel on YouTube. So, it appears that the WWE will go forward with an over the air network in addition to its YouTube channel. McMahon and other WWE executives were quite vague regarding the plans for the WWE Network. But here are some tidbits. Via Seeking Alpha: (McMahon) Capital expenditure is about $10 million to $15 million mostly in equipment and construction for our network. And we believe that, obviously we have finally turned the corner on where we are with our network, and we’ll soon be making a very big announcement as it relates to that. So that we are generally speaking of where we are with the quarter this year. And notwithstanding that, again, we are taking advantage as we always do with all of our strategic opportunities as well as I’ve said before, including launch of the WWE Network, so with that we can achieve meaningful growth as far as that in other aspects of our company is concerned. We expect our fourth quarter 2011 results will reflect $46 million in startup operating expense and $10 million to $15 million in capital expenditures for equipment and construction. This investment will provide space for additional staff and production equipment and allows for a redesign of enhanced interactive website to support a full range of network programs. - McMahon indicated that the network would not partner with distributors. The network will be wholly owned by the WWE. - WWE entered into a revolving credit agreement of $200 million based on favorable conditions in capital markets. Although the WWE indicated no plans to borrow at the time, it could utilize the agreement for the WWE network. Other information: - Q3 saw an impairment charge of $5.1 million coming from its film division - PPV buys increased domestically by 3%, TV ratings were flat compared to Q2 and live attendance saw a 6% decline. - Excluding the impact of the film impairments in the current quarter, Adjusted Operating income was $21.0 million as compared to $20.3 million in the prior year quarter. Adjusted Net income was $14.1 million, or $0.19 per share, as compared to $14.3 million, or $0.19 per share. (via WWE press release) - Although the WWE announced a shift in its business strategy earlier this year. there are no threats of a takeover. - Analysts actually take issue with the WWE’s creative team as it cites the lack of taking advantage of wrestler C.M. Punk’s anti-hero storyline. However, the return of The Rock to the WWE this quarter, it should help with ratings. McMahon addressed the fact that the WWE could address these “creative challenges” WWE stock price was up to $10.70 but closed down slightly for the week at $10.58.

Posted in: wwe, network, wwe network, quarter, income

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Fox Networks recently announced an extensive lineup of programming to compliment the UFC's Nov. 12 debut.

Posted in: ufc, fox, network, programming, programming lineup

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The Hollywood Reporter reports that the WWE Network will be a part of You Tube’s initiative in creating 100 different channels online with the site. Although initial speculation was that the WWE Network would be on cable television, the unprecedented move allows the WWE to circumvent negotiations with cable providers. Via the Hollywood Reporter (h/t Cageside Seats): In a low-budget early effort to compete with satellite and cable TV providers, YouTube announced Friday that it has partnered with several entities to roll out television-style channels with professionally produced shows that will strike a sharp contrast to the short videos of crazy cats, skateboard wipeouts and other amateur content that made the site famous. Insiders said the Google-owned property has shelled out some $150 million in advances for the creation of about 100 channels, with a maximum $5 million going to any single channel. Financial details were sketchy on Friday, though The Wall Street Journal reported that deals call for YouTube recouping its advances then giving as much as 55 percent of the ad revenue to the content creators. The WWE began airing commercials for a network earlier this year with the start date being in 2012. The network is planned to roll out around the next Wrestlemania this spring 2012. Payout Perspective: For WWE fans, this is not what was expected but it is probably the best strategy for the WWE at this point. As we have seen from the Direct TV-Fox contract dispute, the task of placing its network and negotiating a contract with cable distributors would have been difficult especially with its target roll out of this spring. If given the choice, fans would likely check out the channel on YouTube rather than pay extra money on their cable bill. The bigger story here is YouTube (a Google owned entity) and its move to compete with satellite and Cable tv. How many people will adapt to watching television on their computers? How many will know that they can hook up their computers to televisions?

Posted in: wwe, network, channel, youtube, cable

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UFC certainly dodged a bullet on this one. Broadcast satellite service provider DirecTV has reached a deal with FOX to continuing carrying its family of networks. From the DirecTV statement: "Fox Networks and DIRECTV have reached an agreement for DIRECTV to continue carrying all Fox Networks (including FX, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, SPEED, FUEL TV, FOX Soccer, FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Deportes), Fox's regional sports networks, Fox Broadcasting (FOX), the FOX local stations, Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. We both know the past ten days have been challenging, but we're pleased that both sides could eventually come together to ensure our viewers continue to enjoy Fox programming." The two sides may have waited until the eleventh hour to strike the multi-year agreement but the importance of this for the UFC cannot be understated. The world's premiere mixed martial arts organization is gearing up for what promises to be its biggest year in history in 2012, when it plans to hold 34 events. Only a dozen or so of those are planned for pay-per-view, while four shows are planned for the main FOX network channel. That still leaves 18 events without a home. Enter FX and FUEL. While the UFC deal with FOX paved the way for the promotion to land on network TV, which was the most high profile facet of the deal, perhaps more important are the ancillary channels. FX, for example, will become the new home of a completely revamped version of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), which, of course, is the show that saved MMA as we know it. FUEL, on the other hand, has become "essential" for UFC fans, according to President Dana White. That's because the channel will air live events, as well as international versions of TUF. It's more or less going to become the unofficial home for UFC. Losing out on the 20 million DirecTV subscribers would have been a big hit to the big things UFC has planned next year. Again, though, bullet dodged. Any DirecTV subscribers out there jumping for joy at this news?

Posted in: ufc, fox, network, channel, directv

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Last week I reported that DirecTV had sent a letter to the FCC in response to Fox's continual airing of misleading commercials. The complaint essentially was to let the FCC know that Fox is no longer fit to be a network and should not receive the same considerations as CBS/NBC/ABC. The Fox suite of channels including FX, Fuel, and Fox Soccer Channel were set to be pulled from the carrier today until a deal could be reached. Last night the two sides reached to an agreement and customers will not be losing their channels. "Fox Networks and DIRECTV have reached an agreement for DIRECTV to continue carrying all Fox Networks (including FX, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, SPEED, FUEL TV, FOX Soccer, FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Deportes), Fox's regional sports networks, Fox Broadcasting (FOX), the FOX local stations, Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network," DirecTV expressed in a statement. "We both know the past ten days have been challenging, but we're pleased that both sides could eventually come together to ensure our viewers continue to enjoy Fox programming." There are rumors as to why the deal came together so quickly. One is that Fox wanted their entire suite, including Fox Broadcasting, to be under one deal instead of multiple contracts. As with everything in business, this also means that when the next time the contract is up, Fox will have more negotiating power. The only Fox channel that isn't included in this deal is the Golf Channel, which has a month to month type contract. This is great news for MMA fans. The UFC has always had a great relationship with DirecTV, who for a while were the only television carrier that actually supported the sport of MMA. The fact that DirecTV was in a dispute with Fox could have meant disaster for the UFC's network hopes in 2012, especially with their plans for live events. As of right now, the UFC is planning 34 events for next year, a dozen of which will air on PPV. This means that Fox, FX, and Fuel will pick up the remaining events. Fox will air four events, while FX will air six. This means that the remaining 12 will aired on Fuel.  On top of live events, there are also the live seasons of The Ultimate Fighter which will air on FX starting next year. Dana White has been on record saying that UFC fans will need Fuel TV going forward. In addition to the 12 live events, the plans for Fuel TV include airing the international Ultimate Fighters, the first of which will be TUF: Brazil, as well as highlight shows and shows similar to UFC All Access. The irony here is that the UFC failed to purchase their own network when they were in talks with NBC to buy a majority stake in G4; instead, they are getting paid to make Fuel TV a "must have" channel for Fox by turning it into essentially the UFC Network. 

Posted in: ufc, fox, network, channel, directv

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[div class="notice" class2="icon"]The following is from an article on MMA-Japan, part of the MiddleEasy Network.[/div] Victor Cui, owner and CEO of OneFC had some groundbreaking news today.  What we will see go down in 2012 is a massive transition to a grand alliance of Asian mixed martial arts brands, teams, promotions, fighters, and the like.  This creation of the OneFC Network will mark a first in not only in Asia, but throughout the entire mixed martial arts world. The Network sets the tone for Asian mixed martial arts.  It will give all of the fighters a plethora of opportunity, to compete at the desired level their skill allows.  It will give fight teams throughout Asia exposure that otherwise would make it very difficult.  Fighters, who depend highly on sponsorships, will have an opportunity like never seen before.  With all of the above benefits, fighters will become mainstays throughout Asia and mixed martial arts will spread like wildfire. Here is an example of how this could benefit a fight team, as well as fighters:  XYZ Fight Camp is part of the OneFC Network.  They have a roster of 20 fighters ranging from all different skillets and skill levels.  Some are ready to compete at the top level, which will be OneFC, while others still need to develop.  In doing so, the fighters that are in need of development will not have to rough it out on the smaller circuit due to the agreement in place.  The fighters will have exposure to the organization to which they can compete and will have every opportunity to make it to the next level.  The same fight team, XYZ, will also be able to lock in sponsors for each of their fighters much easier. Read More...

Posted in: fighter, network, art, onefc, onefc network

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One FC announces future expansion & show plans for 2012.

Posted in: show, network, fc, expansion, asian mma

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Earlier today, ONE FC announced the signing of exclusive partnership deals with a range of gyms and promotions in the Asia area.The Singapore-based promotion...

Posted in: promotion, deal, network, asia, partnership deals

Read the full article at Fighters Only

It's been a long time coming for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and President Dana White in their respective trek to get the promotion on mainstream television. There have been many bumps and bruises along the way. Unfortunately, it looks like the hits keep coming. In August, it was announced that the UFC had formally inked a deal with FOX Sports. The agreement would ensure more free events on a popular nationwide network, as well as a move The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality television series from Spike to FX. The inaugural offering of the UFC on FOX will take place on Nov. 12, 2011, in Anaheim, California. It will feature a massive match up between current Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos as they square off for the belt.   Most mixed martial arts (MMA) fans will have the pleasure of witnessing the event, for free and LIVE from the comfort of their living rooms. However, DirecTV customers may end up missing out on the party. DirecTV and FOX have been in negotiations for some time now to renew their contract. An agreement has not been reached and DirecTV has taken a hard stance, threatening to pull the network from its available programming if a deal is not struck by Nov. 1.  In a public statement, a spokesperson for FOX had the following to say: "They have given us no chance to respond before taking an unnecessarily aggressive posture and going public. It is disappointing that they have chosen bad faith tactics over meaningful negotiation. We have proposed to keep the Fox Networks on DirecTV for the same price and on the same terms as they are currently carried while we attempt to work out a fair agreement. Unfortunately, DirecTV has decided that unless they get their way, they are going to pull the plug on their customers Nov. 1." Bad news for fans of the UFC. DirecTV responded, citing a lack of truthfulness on the part of FOX: "After months of making little progress in our talks with News Corp and Fox to renew our agreement to carry their regional sports networks and other national channels we've regrettably reached a point where we will be forced to suspend the channels as soon as Nov. 1 unless News Corp is willing to move toward a more reasonable price increase." If the stalemate is not remedied, the move by DirecTV would also affect FX, National Geographic Channel, 19 regional sports networks, Fox Movie Channel, Speed, Fuel TV, Fox Soccer and Fox Deportes. All sources have indicated that the UFC on FOX  1 event will still go on, regardless of the labor agreement situation between FOX and DirecTV. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for updates on this story as it unfolds.

Posted in: ufc, fox, network, directv, agreement

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The Hollywood Reporter reported Thursday night that DirecTV has threatened to drop Fox Networks if a new agreement isn't reached by Tuesday, November 1st. Initially, this was seen as a reason for concern among the MMA masses with the UFC's debut on "big" Fox set for Saturday, November 12. According to information in the Reporter's story, fans planning to watch on DirecTV can relax: Fox Networks includes FX, National Geographic Channel, 19 regional sports networks, Fox Movie Channel, Speed, Fuel TV, Fox Soccer and Fox Deportes. Fox broadcast stations and Fox News Channel are not involved in the negotiations. DirecTV is claiming that Fox is asking for a 40% increase in carriage fees. The two companies' previous agreement expired on September 30th but no progress has been made in negotiations. DirecTV reaches over 19 million homes. If the agreement lasts for any extended period of time, the only thing affecting UFC viewers on DirecTV would be season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter and any second-run programming planned for Fuel. As of yet, no dates or schedule have been announced for either. History Of Disputes If this story sounds familiar, it's because Fox and parent company News Corp. have battled with providers for the last few years including Cablevision and Dish Network -- both in October 2010. On October 1, 2010, Fox removed 19 regional sports channels and two entertainment channels from Dish Network when the two sides clashed over fees, affecting 14.3 million homes during the blackout. The issue was resolved in a month. On October 16, 2010, three local Fox/MyNetwork TV stations along with Fox Business Network, Fox Deportes and Nat Geo Wild were removed from New York regional cable provider CableVision. Three million homes were affected in the two-week dispute.

Posted in: fox, network, channel, directv, negotiations directv

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John Ourand of the Sports Business Daily/Journal has followed up a report on the Fox-Direct TV contract dispute. The two parties have now drawn lines in the sand which has Direct TV threatening to pull Fox channels on November 1. Late Thursday night Fox released the following statement (obtained via John Ourand’s twitter) Despite Fox Networks’ offer of an extension during our ongoing negotiations, DirecTV has informed us and their customers that unless we agree to their demands, they “will suspend our networks on November 1.” DirecTV sent us a proposal on Tuesday afternoon. They have given us no chance to respond before taking an unnecessarily aggressive posture and going public. It is disappointing that they have chosen bad faith tactics over meaningful negotiation. We have proposed to keep the Fox Networks on DirecTV for the same price, and on the same terms as they are currently carried while we attempt to work out a fair agreement. Unfortunately, DirecTV has decided that unless they get their way, they are going to pull the plug on their customers November 1. The following is Direct TV’s response (via Ourand’s twitter): After months of making little progress in our talks with News Corp and Fox to renew our agreement to carry their regional sports networks and other national channels we’ve regrettably reached a point where we will be forced to suspend the channels as soon as Nov. 1 unless News Corp is willing to move toward a more reasonable price increase. They are currently asking our customers to pay 40% more for the exact same Fox channels that they already receive and that’s simply unfair and unwarranted. We hope to resolve this situation before any action is taken, but we will do what’s necessary to protect our customers from excessive and unwarranted fee increases. We already provide News Corp nearly a billion dollars a year for their channels, and we have no problem continuing to compensate them fairly. Note: Fox broadcast stations and Fox News are not affected at this time Fox contract ends December 31, 2011 while Fox News contract ends January 31, 2012. Payout Perspective: Fortunately for the UFC, the Fox network will not be affected for its big “UFC on Fox” event November 12th. However, the dispute could affect its future programming on Fox networks. Why? Direct TV has 19 million subscribers and is the second biggest distributor in the US. A prolonged dispute between Fox-Direct TV could negate UFC momentum of promoting its brand on Fox networks. With UFC programming set for Fox cable networks like FX and Fuel, many of the casual viewers will not see the UFC with its new network partners.  In fact, the dispute could be beneficial to Spike TV which could go heavy into airing the UFC library during this time. As we’ve pointed out, this could lead to future viewer confusion once Fox-Direct TV come to terms. We will continue to monitor to see if Fox cable networks goes dark on November 1st.

Posted in: ufc, fox, tv, network, news

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Ken Hershman has been at Showtime since 1992, serving as the general manager of sports and event programming for several years. He has now expected to jump to HBO where he will replace Ross Greenburg. The most obvious sport this impacts is boxing as Hershman was one of the primary players in turning Showtime into a much more competitive network with HBO with a much smaller budget. Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook talks about the impact on the boxing world: HBO has already shown improvement in the second half of 2011, so Hershman coming on board should keep that momentum rolling. It's worth wondering what he's like with a major budget, though. There is a legitimate worry that he might get lazy with everything being that much easier. Things like the Super Six didn't come easy, and took a lot of work on his part. But doing something similar at HBO would, in theory, be far easier. This could be both a good and bad thing. Showtime has no successor in place for Hershman, and I wouldn't expect them to name anyone to a long-term position until 2012. As a boxing fan, without being corny, I'd like to tip my hat to what Hershman did at Showtime, and I feel good for him that his hard work has rewarded him with this opportunity. It's not about HBO being better at Showtime, but facts are facts, and HBO is the bigger fish. Hershman was absolutely, 100%, without question the man most qualified for the job at HBO Sports, and it's good to see that guy get it. Hershman was a big part of getting MMA onto Showtime (and CBS) and some MMA fans may even remember the pre-Zuffa owned Strikeforce days when Dana White would accuse Hershman and Showtime of being the ones actually running the promotion. Hershman responded to those claims to Sports Illustrated last June: We want to make sure that people understand our place in this sport. We're putting a lot of money and commitment into this sport. We're in it for the long run. We're not going anywhere, despite what anyone may suggest. All the kicking and screaming makes us hold true to that more firmly... I would say there isn't a network that I'm aware of that doesn't ensure the quality of what they put on the network meets whatever criteria they've established. There isn't one fight that gets on the air that I'm not satisfied meets the expectations that out subscribers hold us to. It would be irresponsible for me not to do otherwise. But to suggest that I'm running Strikeforce or controlling the matchups is ludicrous. The question becomes if Showtime will retain that commitment to the sport with Hershman's departure. Showtime execs are no doubt aware that Zuffa has been stripping Strikeforce for parts to beef up the UFC and that relationship seems likely to die the second the current TV deal is up. M-1 Global is likely to continue to be ratings death and even smaller ShoBox level boxing events will do better ratings for little more than the same price. Hershman's move to HBO isn't likely to bring MMA to that network either. Boxing remains a big part of HBO's identity and despite uninformed opinions that the network will eventually give up on the sport, they actually are investing even more in the sport. In 2012 the network is launching a midweek boxing show that will feature competitive fights on a smaller budget to try to aid the process of building up stars. Being realistic, there just aren't enough legitimate fighters outside of Zuffa control for either network to make any sort of long-term investment into MMA at this point. Bellator would be the only even somewhat reasonable option but their structure would have to change entirely as it simply doesn't work with the limited dates provided by the HBO and Showtime schedule. If we didn't already know that we were seeing the beginning of the end of MMA on premium cable, we should know for sure now.

Posted in: hbo, sport, showtime, network, hershman

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Ken Hershman, Showtime's Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sports & Event Programming, has resigned, the premium cable network confirmed to MMAFighting.com on Thursday afternoon. Broadcasting & Cable first reported the news earlier in the day. The outlet is also reporting that Hershman, who left Showtime earlier this week, will replace Ross Greenburg as president of HBO Sports in the coming days. Showtime officials would not confirm where Hershman was headed and HBO officials could not be reached for comment. Hershman began working for Showtime in 1992 in the network's law department. He was named head of Showtime Sports in 2003. In 2007, Hershman brought MMA to the network when EliteXC debuted, and he stuck with the sport following the demise of EliteXC in 2008, striking a deal with Strikeforce in 2009. Of course, this news comes at an interesting time for Strikeforce with all sorts of speculation about its future. Showtime officials would not confirm whether Strikeforce would continue to air on the network next year when its current contract expires, however, a network spokesperson did say that they are still as committed as ever to the sport. UFC president Dana White has made no secret of the fact that he has never seen eye-to-eye with Hershman, however, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta has been running Strikeforce and dealing with Showtime since Zuffa purchased the fight promotion in March. Depending on who replaces Hershman, his departure could either signal the end of MMA on Showtime or breathe new life into the struggling Strikeforce brand. Conversely, Hershman's reported arrival at HBO could open the doors for MMA to air on the network for the first time in its history. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: strikeforce, sport, showtime, network, hershman

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Tune in Saturday night for live audio on the Sherdog Radio Network.

Posted in: night, saturday night, radio, network, postfight radio

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Maximum Fighting Championships has signed a one year deal with Canadian sports network, TSN according to the Edmonton Sun. The article reports that TSN approached MFC owner Mark Pavelich as the network wanted an MMA property for its network. TSN (The Sports Network) is Canada’s leading English language sports tv channel. It appears that MFC programming will be shown on TSN2. The network is owned by Bell Media (80%) and ESPN (20%). Via the Edmonton Sun: “It’ll help corporate sponsorship, it’ll help fighter sponsorship and it’ll help in every direction possible,” said (Mark) Pavelich. “They’ll make more money because I’ll make more money. Now, if you’re fighting in the Maximum Fighting Championship, you’re not just on HDNet in Canada, the US and Mexico, you’re on TSN2 and that’ll spread even more.” Payout Perspective: A good deal for the MFC to get its chance in front of a broader audience. As Pavelich points out, it will help garner sponsorships for the MFC and its fighters. It also shows the popularity of MMA is growing as TSN sought out an MMA property for its programming. It will be interesting to know from our Canadian readers about the accessibility of TSN2. Is it carried by most of the cable providers in Canada (it looks like it is) and if so, is it a channel on a higher tier for which you’d have to pay a premium to receive?

Posted in: network, mfc, ’ll, tsn, mma property

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Good news for fight fans across the pond: In addition to the Versus network, UFC on Versus 6: "Cruz vs. Johnson" will broadcast live on Sky Channel 433 Premier Sports and Setanta 1 in Ireland. It's also available online at UFC.tv. Props: Gareth Davies

Posted in: network, cruz vs, fight fans, cruz ...., pond

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Oscar De La Hoya has a pretty big dog in the boxing fight. Golden Boy Promotions was at the center of this past weekend's fight between Victor Ortiz and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. with Golden Boy promoting Ortiz. Oscar gave a recent interview to FightHubTV where he explained exactly why he thinks that the UFC's success and move to have fights shown on Fox could be good for the sport of boxing as well: Some quotes from the video (transcribed by Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook): First of all, I congratulate Dana White for doing an amazing job. My utmost respect to Dana White, I believe he's a brilliant guy, he's a tremendous person to have in a combat sport. I think they did an outstanding job in promoting the UFC, and look at where it's at now. They struck a deal with Fox, which is amazing for the UFC, for MMA, my hat's off to him. Boxing will be back on network television, I can feel very confident in saying that. Sooner than later, it will be back on network television. When you put good fighters together, people want to watch. And when you have any type of network behind boxing, you will create ratings. And it's a matter of when, and we're working that -- with Golden Boy Promotions, we're working on taking those next steps. What Dana White has done has been amazing, outstanding. I salute him, and keep on doing a great job. ... He's been doing tremendous deals and this goes to show you that Dana White and the Fertitta brothers are brilliant. They know what they're doing, and they've obviously taken it to the next step, to the next level. And who knows where the MMA's gonna go? Sky's the limit. ... And Dana White has done an amazing job. What that can do for boxing is just open doors, because it's a combat sport. And I salute him. I believe he's doing some big things. More power to him. The idea of boxing returning network TV coming out of the UFC on Fox is something Scott Christ has talked about recently: I mentioned when I did the MMA Nation show on Sunday with Luke Thomas that I'm really rooting for UFC to score great ratings on Fox on November 12, because I think their potential success could cause a network like ABC or NBC or CBS to go, "Hey, this did well. What about doing boxing?" There are no other truly viable MMA promotions right now, but there are a load of established boxers out there, and it would be, of course, truly great to see boxing back on network television. With that as a potential outlet, maybe nobody winds up being forced into sticking a fight like Bernard Hopkins vs Chad Dawson on pay-per-view simply because HBO ran out of budget.

Posted in: ufc, boxing, dana, network television, network

Read the full article at Bloody Elbow