In an ever-growing push, UFC President Dana White announced yesterday that UFC programming will be on HBO by this summer. Rumors of a UFC-HBO deal began spreading last year but soon died-out as the two organizations couldn't come to an agreement on who would be in charge of production. HBO currently the world champion in boxing production wanted to have complete control over the UFC shows while Zuffa, the parent company to UFC wanted to maintain control. It seems that the Zuffa team decided that no progess was being made and will allow HBO to have the final say in the production of each show.
HBO executives have openly expressed their discontent with UFC announcers Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan and insist on providing their own team. UFC has out-paced boxing in viewership and Pay-Per-View buys annually and with the recent acquisition of Pride, UFC looks to increase its market-share dramatically by years end.
As the front-runner in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) programming, UFC teamed up with Spike TV to bring the reality series Ultimate Fighter to basic cable. This prompted an explosive reaction rising the popularity of MMA and UFC to stardom levels.
Showtime, however, beat HBO to the punch as it signed a deal with Pro Elite Inc., headed by boxing promoter Gary Shaw, to broadcast no less than five events this year. UFC looks to counter with quality fighters amongst who are featured on the popular UFC reality show Ultimate Fighter.
Stay tuned for more as we hear it!
