UFC and Fox Strike a TV Deal

Fox Sports and UFC parent Zuffa reach an agreement for 7yr TV deal.  The deal includes broadcasts of 36 live events each year and the reality show The Ultimate Fighter.  Under the terms of the deal, Zuffa will retain control of the live broadcasts.  Sports Business Journal reports that the deal is worth at least 100 million per year.

“I’ve had the question a million times since the press conference, ‘How does it feel to be mainstream now?’ Now is not the time to be standing around patting each other on the back. We’re not mainstream,” White said. “The way that I look at this deal is we’ve just been given the opportunity and now it’s time to work. Now we’ve got to dive in and do what we do best at the UFC: continue to educate people on this sport, continue to build new talent and bring the best live sporting event to the No. 1 network on television.”

The first event under the new deal is scheduled for Nov 12th which happens to be the same day of Manny Pacquiao’s fight.  Spikes contract will officially expire in Jan 2012.

Source:  Fox Sports, Press Conference
Credit:  GGB