Exec not worried about oversaturation in 2012
As part of the UFC's new seven-year deal with the Fox network, which officially starts Jan. 1, UFC programming will also air on Fox subsidiaries FX and Fuel TV. Tuesday, the extent of the partnership with Fuel came to light.
Fuel TV will air in the neighborhood of 2,000 hours of UFC content in 2012 – or roughly 23 percent of the total programming on the cable channel. And on Jan. 1, to kick off the first day of the UFC-Fox partnership, the channel will have a 24-hour UFC marathon. Fuel TV and the UFC on Tuesday made the announcement of the programming blitz.
In addition, Fuel has outlined some of the new UFC original programs that will debut on the station in 2012. Included in the 2,000 of UFC content on Fuel will be an expected 100 hours of live content ranging from fight cards and prelim specials to weigh-in events and pre- and post-fight shows.
Tuesday, Greenberg told HeavyMMA.com the Fox Sports Media Group had no reservations about an oversaturation of UFC content on the channel.
"The reason (Fox Sports Media Group) purchased UFC was to grow and help us launch other shows," Greenberg said. "And the ratings we're going to receive from the UFC programming are going to allow us to have key action sports shows sampled like they've never been sampled before. We think in the end, we've got the perfect balance between UFC and action sports."
One concern of MMA and UFC fans has been Fuel's availability on cable and satellite platforms. Though Fuel reportedly reaches 36 million homes (as compared to roughly 100 million for Spike and 75 million for Versus, the UFC's previous cable partners). But last week in Chicago, White said Fuel's numbers have grown by 11 percent since the UFC deal with Fox and that as fans realize how much UFC content the station will have those numbers will continue to grow. That number was confirmed by Greenberg on Tuesday, and he said the goal is to ignite fans' desires for Fuel.
"I don't control the contracts of the affiliate deals we have in place," Greenberg said. "The only thing I can do here at Fuel TV is make us the most wanted channel of any network on television. When people understand very quickly beginning Jan. 1 that they've got to have the UFC, then they're going to have to have Fuel TV. And they'll have to call their cable or satellite provider to find out how to get it."
Fuel plans to launch "UFC Tonight," a regular news magazine-style show, with former UFC on Versus play-by-play man Todd Harris as host and Kenny Florian, Greenberg said, as co-host. The current call is for 26 episodes of the show in 2012, though Greenberg said early success could mean an additional order with a potential weekly frequency. The first episode will air Jan. 3 at 10 p.m. Eastern.
In addition, Fuel announced live weigh-in events for UFC 142 in Rio on Jan. 13, and a live post-fight show immediately after the pay-per-view on Jan. 14. And Fuel will feature full preliminary bouts for the first UFC on FX card on Jan. 20, which takes place in Nashville, as well as a live weigh-in show the day before. And for the UFC on Fox show in Chicago the next week, Fuel will have weigh-ins, live prelims and a post-fight show. The first UFC on Fuel live fight card will take place Feb. 15 in Omaha, Neb., headlined by a bout between Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger.
For more on the UFC on Fuel, visit the channel's site at fuel.tv/ufc.
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