Versus, DirecTV Reach Agreement

The standoff between Versus and DirecTV is over.

DirecTV and Comcast announced today that Versus has returned to the same DirecTV packages it was in when the station was taken off the satellite provider last September. Versus was taken off the air due to a dispute between Versus owner Comcast and DirecTV.

“We’re excited that we were able to come to a fair agreement that puts Versus back in millions of homes with DirecTV in time for our busy spring programming schedule,” Versus president Jamie Davis stated. “We look forward to super-serving these fans with NHL regular-season and playoff coverage, our first live UFC event and much more.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The announcement comes just in time for UFC fans to enjoy the “UFC on Versus 1” card this weekend. The show, headlined by a light heavyweight tilt between Jon Jones and Brandon Vera, also features a heavyweight contenders bout between Junior dos Santos and former title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga.

The announcement is also good news for fans of World Extreme Cagefighting. The UFC’s sibling promotion calls Versus home, and many DirecTV subscribers have been left in the cold since the channel was dropped from their lineup. It’s also good news for the WEC brass, who saw a distinct drop in WEC viewership during the standoff.

“We did see a decrease in viewers. After the first fight, it was tough to tell the reason behind it,” WEC Vice President Peter Dropick told Heavy.com. “But when you compare apples to apples on the same night of the week, you could see a downtick.”

Next month marks the first time a WEC event will be broadcast on pay per view. Jose Aldo defends his featherweight championship against former title holder Urijah Faber at WEC 48, an important event for a promotion attempting to make the leap from hardcore fan darling to mainstream success story.

WEC officials told Heavy.com that they plan to take full advantage of the expanded subscriber base that the deal brings. A Countdown show for the Aldo/Faber bout is currently in production. WEC officials are hopeful that additional broadcast partners will also pick up the show.

The next WEC on Versus broadcast will take place in June. Dropick told Heavy.com that he hopes to make an announcement regarding the card in the coming weeks.

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