MMA Universe

Viacom purchased a majority stake in Bellator this fall and announced that it would move its newest purchase to Spike TV in 2013.

With the UFC looking for a new network dance partner most of 2011, many believed that Bellator would make the move to Spike. The purchase of Bellator confirmed the speculation.

Spike TV has the rights to the UFC library through 2012 and it was thought that Zuffa would purchase the library from Spike but that notion has died down. Spike.com began airing the preliminary fights of Bellator events this year as well.

Ironically, Dana White embraced the Viacom move as the UFC believed that the purchase would ease an FTC investigation and any notion of Zuffa monopolizing the MMA industry. Instead, White described the UFC as a “mom and pop” in comparison to Viacom.

With the Viacom acquisition, it will be interesting to see how much of an investment it puts into Bellator on Spike. Talent acquisitions, production for Bellator programming and marketing should be at the top of the list for improvement for the organization.

Spike TV announced that it would air episodes from the past 14 episodes of The Ultimate Fighter on Fridays. The programming move runs opposite FX’s “The Ultimate Fighter” and Bellator on MTV2.

Via Spike TV press release:

Spike TV, the recognized home of mixed martial arts on television, has announced a new three-hour programming block debuting on Friday, March 2 (9:00 PM – Midnight, ET/PT) featuring the greatest episodes from the 14 seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter.” From Rashad Evans to Matt Serra, from Forrest Griffin to Kimbo Slice, “The Ultimate Fighter Fridays” on Spike TV will showcase all the incredible knockouts, unbelievable submissions, and tense drama from the seven years of the hit Spike series. The network will air special-themed editions of “The Ultimate Fighter Fridays” with input from fans via Facebook and Twitter. Details will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

I originally thought that Bellator moving to Friday night was a smart move because it could own Friday night. I was wrong as TUF will be on FX on Friday night and now Spike TV will air reruns of past TUFs. An interesting question posed by some is whether airing TUF on Friday would impact Bellator ratings.

John Morgan of MMA Junkie tweeted that a Spike TV executive stated the network chose Friday night because, “Spike has to monetize the library the UFC prefers we keep and run.” An obvious jab at the UFC.

Payout Perspective:

Spike TV’s programming decision will definitely impact both Bellator and TUF. Although reruns, many people will want to see the early seasons which include Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin and Randy Couture.The move appears to be a direct counter to TUF on FX rather than Bellator on MTV2 in the continued bad breakup between the two.This spring will be full of MMA Fridays and it will be interesting to see who will win the ratings war.

Bellator will be moving to Friday nights for its sixth season scheduled for March 2, 2012 on MTV2 and Epix according to a Bellator press release.

Via Bellator Press Release:

The premiere will mark the first time Bellator has aired on Friday nights. “Our focus was to find the right night, where the largest number of MMA fans could enjoy the show,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “We’ve been discussing this move with our partners at Viacom for months. When we looked at the alternatives, we agreed that Fridays provided a great night for us to reach MMA fans with our live, real sport, tournament events every week.”

Bellator’s Season 6 will feature five tournaments, each loaded with world-class talent from across the globe as well the potential for six World Title fights.”

Payout Perspective:

A very smart move by Bellator to move off of Saturday night’s so it would not go up against the UFC. We will see if the possibility of a Strikeforce/Showtime deal will mean Strikeforce as opposition for Bellator on Friday nights. Still, at this point, the move allows Bellator to own Friday night and have more viewers tune in rather than having them make a choice.

MMA Junkie reports that Bellator 59’s ratings this past Saturday received an average of 265,000 viewers. A replay of the event Saturday night received an average of 136,000 viewers.

Bellator also ran an encore showing of the much talked about Alvarez-Chandler fight from Bellator 58. The replay received an average viewership of 237,000 viewers.

Payout Perspective:

Although Bellator 59 was slightly lower than 58 (269,000 viewers), the numbers are steady. The slight decline this past weekend is likely due to the long weekend and holiday shopping. But still the numbers for the replay of the Alvarez-Chandler fight shows an increase in fan viewership.

MMA Junkie reports that Bellator 58 held this past Saturday scored an average of 269,000 viewers. Bellator 58 tied for highest ratings this season and is an  impressive number considering it went up against UFC 139.

Despite the competition from the UFC, Bellator ratings doubled from last week.

Via MMA Junkie:

An additional 160,000 viewers watched an immediate replay of Bellator 58, meaning a total of 429,000 viewers watched the event on fight night.

The company does not release viewership numbers for the preliminary streams, but a source close to the promotion said the figure was up 97 percent from the previous week’s total.

Payout Perspective:

Very good numbers for Bellator which were aided by Hector Lombard and the Chandler-Alvarez fight. The replay earned solid numbers likely from the social media buzz of the Chandler-Alvarez fight. The ratings could be a sign that Bellator can compete with the UFC. But, more likely, its a sign that the UFC promoted its Fox debut so much that 139 was an afterthought that did not get a lot of promotion. Based on the UFC on Fox’s numbers, the Bellator ratings increase for its stream and show are impressive but must be tempered considering how big the Fox debut was for UFC (and for Fox).

MMA Junkie reports that Saturday night’s Bellator 57 on MTV2 received a low 129,000. Bellator 57 ran opposite the UFC on Fox, the Pacquiao-Marquez fight and college football Saturday night.

Despite changing its time slot to avoid conflicts, the 129,000 viewers average shows that MMA fans were watching the UFC online, the JDS-Cain marathon on Spike TV, free fight prelims on the Audience Network or college football.

Payout Perspective:

Hopefully in 2012 Bellator can plan ahead during weekends it will run up against UFC PPVs and UFC on Fox. The 129,000 viewers is a low turnout but expected considering the huge event in the UFC. We will see if Bellator can gain some traction with the hype of MMA from the UFC on Fox. It will be interesting to see if it can rebound next week despite competing with a mediocre UFC 139.

In a sign of growth for the company, Bellator has entered into a deal with FremantleMedia Enterprises. The company will represent Bellator in seeking international distribution rights and other business opportunities on behalf of the company.

Via joint FME-Bellator press release:

FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME), the brand extension arm of FremantleMedia, today announced a global rights deal with Bellator Fighting Championships for FME to exclusively represent the rapidly growing brand’s international TV distribution rights, as well as handle the licensing, digital and ancillary rights for the US and international markets.

Since its launch in 2009, Bellator has rapidly gained momentum in the US and abroad, and is now the No. 2 promoter and producer of mixed martial arts worldwide. Currently in its fifth season, Bellator airs in over 80 million homes on MTV2, in high-definition in 30 million homes on EPIX and can be seen weekly on Spike.com. Recognizing the growing popularity of the brand, Viacom, parent of MTV Networks, recently acquired a majority stake in the company. Additionally, Viacom has announced that Bellator will debut on Spike TV in early 2013, where it will be seen in over 100 million homes.

David Ellender, FME’s Global CEO, commented, “This deal further diversifies FME’s third party slate and builds on our reputation as experts at identifying and exploiting the potential of emerging brands. The sport of mixed martial arts is gaining momentum with fans worldwide, and we can see huge potential for the Bellator brand across all platforms, both in the US and internationally.”

“The incredible athleticism and intensity exhibited in all of our mixed martial arts tournaments translate into any language,” said Bjorn Rebney, Chairman, CEO and Founder of Bellator. “With FME as our partner, we will have the ability to showcase our high-intensity brand of fighting to millions around the globe.”

Payout Perspective:

This deal bodes well for Bellator as its a sign of the expansion of the brand and the potential of tapping unrealized economic opportunities abroad. Its likely that this deal is in place as it foreshadows Bellator’s move to Spike TV a year from now.

MMA Junkie reports that Bellator 56 earned an average of 154,000 viewers. This marked the second straight week in a row Bellator’s ratings decreased in its Saturday night spot on MTV2.

Via MMA Junkie:

The event again faced stiff competition from the UFC. UFC 137 took place the same night in Las Vegas, and the event’s Facebook, Spike TV and pay-per-view fights overlapped with Bellator 56′s broadcast and stream.

Payout Perspective:

This week’s decrease in ratings was probable considering it went up against UFC 137, college football and Saturday night Halloween activities. Its a shame considering the Askren-Hieron fight was a matchup that many casual MMA fans would have been interested in. Arguably, Askren is one of the faces of Bellator and its unfortunate that this fight did not get more publicity…or a better night to run this event.

Late last night, Sergio Non of USA Today broke that news that media conglomerate giant Viacom had purchased a majority stake in Bellator Fighting Championships.

Viacom, parent of MTV Networks, bought a majority stake in Bellator Fighting Championships and will start airing the promotion’s bouts on Spike in 2013, the companies told USA TODAY this week. They’ve had ongoing talks for about a year as they finished up various deals, and over the past month finally reached the point where they could announce the news, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said.
…
Selling to Viacom’s entertainment conglomerate guarantees a stable future for Bellator, said Rebney, who will remain in charge of Bellator.
…
“It puts all of those cornerstones of ownership in place for us,” he said. “Which is something that’s been so seriously lacking in the MMA space with so many different companies, including Strikeforce and the IFL and Affliction and all the different failures that have occurred.

… It alleviates those issues.”

SPIKE TV PRESS RELEASE:

Viacom has purchased a majority stake in Bellator Fighting Championships, USA Today reported Wednesday morning. The promotion’s fights will begin airing on Spike in 2013.

The buy, said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, provides a foundation for the promotion’s future.

“It puts all of those cornerstones of ownership in place for us”, Rebney told USA Today. He will stay onboard to head the fight promotion.

“We’ll have a platform to promote the brand that reaches 99 million fans.” said Rebney to Newsday. “The benefit of what we’ve done in terms of this partnership is going to be reflected in who we’re able to sign, and where we’re able to sign them from and what we’re able to provide the fighters.”

Spike carries rights to air the UFC library through 2012. For the time being, Spike will supplement MTV2′s current Bellator programming with highlight shows and related content, online and on TV. Additionally, Spike.com will continue to stream preliminary card fights.

Spike network president Kevin Kay was bullish on the purchase. “(We) started to have conversations with MTV2 about getting invested in a mixed martial arts promotion and become owners as opposed to renters,” Kay said to USA Today. “You’re building value in something that you own, and you own it for the long term. You’re not in a constant state of negotiation.”

Bellator currently fields such talent as Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez, Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard, Welterweight Champion Ben Askren, Jay Hieron and Alexis Vila.

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Payout Perspective:

Here are some notes and observations from the story:

- Bellator is now the #2 promotion in Mixed Martial Arts behind the UFC.

- Although Spike’s agreement ends this year with the UFC, they stil lhave rights to the UFC library in 2012, which will prevent Bellator from airing on Spike TV until 2013.

- Spike TV started talking about possibly investing in Bellator with MTV2 and Viacom’s mergers and acquisition group when TV negotiations fell through with the UFC.

- Having a strong #2 promotion may be a good thing for the UFC, as they have been dealing with an FTC investigation for the majority of the year.

- Bjorn Rebney: Viacom is the majority shareholder of BellatorMMA now… Rebney will stay on as CEO.

- Bjorn Rebney: BellatorMMA will keep their tournament format through 2012 and 2013 on Spike.

- Spike will supplement MTV2′s current Bellator programming with highlight shows and related content, online and on TV. Additionally, Spike.com will continue to stream preliminary fights.

MMA Junkie reports that Bellator 55’s ratings this past Saturday night received an average of 168,000 viewers on Saturday night. The numbers show a decrease from Bellator 54 which posted an 185,000 viewer average.

An immediate replay of the broadcast received a lowly 45,000 viewer average.

Via MMA Junkie:

Once again, the latest ratings continue the organization’s wildly inconsistent season-five numbers; two events have scored at least 235,000 viewers, and three have drawn 158,000 or fewer. Bellator 55 did go unopposed by the UFC and Strikeforce.

Payout Perspective:

Despite not going up against another MMA card, it seems that Bellator fell victim to College Football (which included several top teams playing at the same time as the broadcast), the World Series and HBO Boxing (including the first episode of Pacquiao-Marquez 24/7). The 168,000 viewer average is decent but one would think that it could have maintained, if not exceeded Bellator 54’s 185,000 average. Also, the replay numbers seemed unusually low.

MMA Junkie reports that Bellator 54 on MTV2 received an average of 185,000 viewers. Running unopposed a UFC card helped the promotion increase viewership by 80% between Bellator 53 and 54.

Via MMA Junkie:

Once again, the latest ratings continue the organization’s wildly inconsistent season-five numbers; two events have scored at least 235,000 viewers, and three have drawn 158,000 or fewer.

A replay earned an average of 116,000 viewers. The 185,000 average equated to a 0.2 rating according to The Wrestling Observer.

Payout Perspective:

A nice bounce back from 53′s 103,000 average a week ago. As MMA Junkie points out, Bellator’s ratings have been across the board and its hard to find a pattern. But, we may argue that the numbers reflect the fact that Bellator can draw a decent audience when its not running up against the UFC. This begs the question as to if Bellator should move to another night. Moving the time slot on Saturday could be another option but that could draw confusion. Bjorn Rebney indicated that he would be open to such a move in 2012. But, this week Bellator 55 runs unopposed (on TV that is) so we should see another solid ratings week.

Last week we reported that Bellator had sued Arizona promotion Desert Rage Full Contact Fighting claiming the Arizona-based promotion interfered with contracted Bellator fighters for its upcoming event in Yuma on October 22nd as Desert Rage was set to hold its own event nearby on the same date.

The most recent movement in the case has Desert Rage filing a jurisdictional challenge to Bellator’s lawsuit. As a company in Illinois, Bellator filed its claim in Illinois. However, Desert Rage has opposed the filing and is requesting that the lawsuit either be dismissed or transferred to the district court in Yuma, Arizona. The hearing date to determine the jurisdiction issue will be held in December which is interesting considering that its well after the October 22nd events of both companies.

In its motion, Desert Rage includes the affidavit of Chance Farrar, the individual Bellator alleges to be the central person to have had contact with Bellator contracted fighters and had knowledge of its contracts as Farrar worked with Bellator this past spring.  In his affidavit Farrar claims not having a contract with Bellator and worked as a “fight coordinator” for Bellator’s April 2011 event in Yuma. Notably, he states, “I did not have any written contract with Bellator in relation to this (April 2011) event.” He also states that Desert Rage had planned its October 22nd event in July which would trump Bellator as it claimed it started planning for its event in August.

Based on the affidavit, its interesting that Bellator did not have Farrar sign a non-disclosure, non-compete agreement prior to having him work with the company. Obviously this is Monday-morning quarterbacking and perhaps Bellator did not have a reason to suspect this could happen. But, as a fight promotion, planning is everything. Its interesting that some sort of instinctive relief  (a request from the court to stop a party from doing something) was not requested by either party as both promotions are set to hold its events this Saturday. The hearing date for the motion is set well after the events and the effect of that would make the lawsuit about money. Or, just a moot point.

DISCLAIMER

The information in this post is opinion only. In addition, and because this is my opinion, it is not intended to be (and is not) legal advice or an advertisement for legal services. This post provides general information only. Although I encourage interested parties to contact me on the subjects discussed in the article, the reader should not consider information on this site to be an invitation for an attorney-client relationship.  I disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post. Any e-mail sent to me will not create an attorney-client relationship, and you should not use this site to send me e-mail containing confidential or sensitive information.

Bellator could move from its current Saturday night slot according to Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. MMA Junkie reports that “it remains to be seen” where the promotion will place its sixth season which starts in the first quarter of 2012.

Via MMA Junkie:

Bellator, which has promoted 54 shows since its 2009 debut, now airs on MTV2 on Saturday nights. But those events frequently face competition from the UFC, Strikeforce and other weekend-loving promotions. And though it’s hard to determine if it’s solely that competition that’s affecting ratings – season-five Bellator events have peaked with up to 269,000 viewers and recently bottomed out with 103,000 – MMA fans often are forced to make a choice.

Bellator’s move could depend on whether it will move to Spike TV. And that move will depend on whether the UFC will purchase the rights to its library from Spike as Spike has retained the rights to it for 2012. The network cannot feature another MMA promotion so long as it has the rights to the UFC library.

Payout Perspective:

A move to another night is not as simple as one might think. Rebney points out the ease of selling tickets to a Saturday night event as one reason Bellator remains on Saturday night. However, viewers would have a better chance of watching Bellator programming if it moved to another night when it does not go up against the UFC. Of course, without the NBA, Bellator has one less competitor on Saturday nights the first quarter of 2012. It would mainly have to work around UFC PPVs.

Another option could include holding events on another night and giving away the event tickets to ensure attendance while finding other ways to recoup the gate revenue. It could also just move its start times on nights of the UFC PPVs although that move could become confusing since it could lose viewership if people are confused about the start times.

MMA Junkie reports that Bellator 53 bottomed out with an average of 103,000 viewers Saturday night. The numbers reflect the lowest ratings on MTV2 since it began broadcasting on the network.

Via MMA Junkie:

The latest ratings continue the organization’s wildly inconsistent season-five numbers; two events have scored at least 235,000 viewers, and three have drawn 158,000 or fewer. Bellator 53 faced stiff competition from UFC 135 (sic actually UFC 136) and a full slate of NCAA football games, which likely had a major effect on the ratings.

A rerun of Bellator 53 received more viewers (120,000) than the live viewing.

Payout Perspective:

The most telling number from Bellator 53 is that its replay outdrew the live event. Obviously a low rating was expected considering going up against UFC 136. But, the replay shows that there are viewers out there that would watch its product. Should Bellator move to another time slot or another day? Will moving to Spike TV help its ratings?

MMA Fighting reports that Bellator has filed a lawsuit against Arizona promotion Desert Rage Full Contact Fighting (“Desert Rage”) claiming the local Arizona promotion interfered with its upcoming show October 22nd in Yuma, Arizona.

The lawsuit filed in the US District Court in Illinois (where Bellator’s principal place of business is located) states that Chance Farrar was paid to assist with Bellator’s April card in Yuma, Arizona. The Complaint filed by Bellator claims Farrar was given access to Bellator fight contracts as well as pertinent information related to negotiating with fighters. It also claims Farrar knew the terms of fighter contracts and knew the length and conditions of the contracts.

The Complaint goes on to allege that Bellator did not enlist Desert Rage to secure fighters for its upcoming event October 22nd in Yuma, Arizona. It began the process of finding fighters in August 2011. Bellator discovered that Desert Rage would be holding an event that same night in Winterhaven, California–9 miles from the site in Yuma where Bellator would hold Bellator 55. It also learned that the local promotion offered more money to fighters under contract with Bellator. A cease and desist letter (attached to the Complaint as Exhibit A) was sent to Desert Rage requesting that it not contact fighters under Bellator contract. In addition, Bellator claims that Desert Rage officials told fighters and others in the MMA industry that Bellator had cancelled its event on October 22nd. As a result of these claims, Bellator believes that ticket sales would be impacted.

Bellator has sued Desert Rage and Chance Farrar for 1) Intentional Interference with Contractual Relations; 2) Interference with Prospective Advantage; 3) Negligent Interference with Prospective Advantage; 4) Deceptive Practices under Illinois state law. and 5) Common Law Unfair Competition.

Bellator is requesting an order from the court which would stop Desert Rage from holding an event on the same night as Bellator 55 and from holding an event “within 50 miles of Yuma,” until after October 25th. It also is requesting that the court order Desert Rage and Farrar to not communicate with any fighters that are under exclusive contract of Bellator or are negotiating with Bellator. Bellator is also requesting actual damages of over $75,000, exemplary/punitive damages and attorney fees and costs.
CM_ECF LIVE, Ver 4.2 – U.S. District Court, Northern Illinois-CM_ECF LIVE, Ver 4.2 – U.S//

Interesting notes in the Complaint:

- Bellator claims its production costs for Bellator 55 exceed $500,000
- Bellator is seen on television weekly by 250,000 viewers nationwide
- Farrar admits to receiving Bellator’s cease and desist letter although he personally denied telling anyone that Bellator’s card was cancelled.

As of this writing Desert Rage and/or Chance Farrar had not filed an Answer (response) to the Complaint.

H/t: The Fight Lawyer

Payout Perspective:

It does not appear that a non-disclosure agreement was signed by Farrar when he helped Bellator in April. But, it appears from the Complaint that Farrar was privy to Bellator fighter contracts and information related to fighter contracts. Whether or not the information Farrar received from working with Bellator was used by Desert Rage or himself will be important to this lawsuit. Certainly, Bellator is arguing that this information was used in recruiting fighters for Desert Rage’s card. More damaging to Desert Rage and Farrar is the claim that the Arizona promotion told fighters that the Bellator card was cancelled. It will be interesting to see how the court rules in this case.

DISCLAIMER

The information in this post is opinion only. In addition, and because this is my opinion, it is not intended to be (and is not) legal advice or an advertisement for legal services. This post provides general information only. Although I encourage interested parties to contact me on the subjects discussed in the article, the reader should not consider information on this site to be an invitation for an attorney-client relationship.  I disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post. Any e-mail sent to me will not create an attorney-client relationship, and you should not use this site to send me e-mail containing confidential or sensitive information.

MMA Junkie reports that Bellator 52 received its second highest ratings ever on MTV2 with an average of 269,000 viewers. The numbers show an increase of 70 percent from last week’s performance.

Via MMA Junkie:

The Bellator 52 broadcast peaked between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. ET with 345,000 viewers. Additionally, an immediate replay of the event scored 196,000 viewers, marking a combined audience of 465,000 viewers for the first two airings of Bellator 52.

Bellator 52 featured the quarterfinals of its Heavyweight tournament.

Payout Perspective:

The numbers are promising considering the show went up against a live and free UFC event on Versus, college football as well as HBO Boxing (although I believe MMA ended before boxing began). At this point, Bellator is likely hoping for consistency with its ratings. As you may recall just two weeks ago it scored an all-time MTV2 low of just 114,000 viewers. Of course, that occurred the same night as Mayweather-Ortiz. Notwithstanding this past weekend’s ratings, it seems that Bellator is not destination television. Looking at the last three shows, there’s a huge swing in viewership. Obviously, its been going up against stiff competition the past couple weeks (Mayweather and Jon Jones). So, perhaps 52 is a turning point for the organization.

MMA Junkie reports that Bellator 51 held Saturday night drew an average of 158,000 viewers on MTV2. The results were up from last week but still an overall disappointing rating.

The opening of the bantamweight tournament for Bellator featured a highlight reel knockout of Joe Warren by Alex Vila. But, it faced stiff competition from UFC 135 as well as the usual slate of college football.

Payout Perspective:

According to MMA Junkie, the 158,000 viewers were ranked 14th out of 17 Bellator shows on MTV2. Its a tough spot for Bellator considering it went up against UFC 135. If you consider the fact that the UFC 135 prelims had strong ratings, you can infer that most MMA fans were going to be focused on the UFC Saturday night.

During UFC 135′s press conference, MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani spoke to UFC President Dana White regarding their current relationship with Spike TV, Bellator airing on Spike.com, and what we can expect from UFC shoulder programming in 2012.

Spike currently owns the UFC library through 2012, and by doing so, cannot air content from another MMA promotion – such as Bellator – until the deal expires or UFC buys back the library.  When Helwani asked White if the UFC was planning on buying the library back from Spike, he firmly stated that the “UFC will be on Spike TV in 2012″.  That of course means that Spike would then be contractually obligated to UFC programming throughout next year and Bellator would stay on MTV 2 and Spike.com until the life of the contract expires.

When Dana was asked about Bellator airing on Spike.com on the same day as UFC live programming, white stated the following:

“If you really look at what I call ‘the spirit of the deal’, it’s the wrong thing to do. The thing is, you have to understand, in my opinion it’s Spike not being honorable. They’re not being honorable. And they know. Kevin knows, Brian, all the guys who have dealt with me at Spike TV, I’ve been nothing but honorable with them. Everything that I did was to build the UFC and Spike TV. I’ve been a fantastic partner. Whatever they’ve needed from me I’ve done for them and helped them get to where they are today, just like they’ve helped us get to where we are today. And what they’re doing, if that’s the case, and they’re running these things on Spike.com, that’s not the spirit of the deal and they are being 100% not honorable. “

In terms of Strikeforce and their future, White stated that their existence relies completely on whether Showtime wants to stay in the MMA business.  Their deal is up on February/March of 2012 and a decision of whether to exercise a 2-year option – which would extend the current TV deal until 2014 – has to come from Showtime by the end of October.

When asked about Women’s MMA, White suggested that Women’s MMA will be promoted under the Zuffa banner “as long as Strikeforce is around”. Since ZUFFA acquired Strikeforce,  their champions and most marketable fighters – Nick Diaz, Alistair Overeem, and Dan Henderson to name a few – have since signed to fight in the UFC and have vacated their Strikeforce belts. Cung Le, another main staple in Strikeforce, is scheduled to be part of the UFC 139 co-main event, which will take place in San Jose, Strikeforce’s old home-base.

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Payout Perspective:

The library rights that Spike currently owns is a key chess piece here being utilized by the UFC and Spike.  By keeping UFC programming on Spike, they can continue to distribute their content on Spike, which is synonymous to many as the home of MMA and the UFC.  They are also essentially keeping Bellator off of Spike for another year.  At the same time, Spike can use UFC’s programming to counter live events which will be shown on FOX, FX, and Fuel TV.  They can also use UFC programming to promote Bellator on MTV 2 and Spike.com, which they have been doing for months now, ever since negotiating a future deal with the UFC earlier this year.

As for UFC’s new partner, FOX, keeping the library on Spike prevents FX and Fuel TV from airing any shoulder programming, which will make it that much tougher to convert current Spike viewers to switch over.  Without having access to shows like Unleashed, previous TUF seasons, and old UFC events, Fuel TV and FX will have to solely rely on live events in 2012, which will not produce enough programming to get MMA fans to tune in to FX or Fuel TV on a regular basis to catch UFC programming, as they have become accustomed to at Spike TV.

In the end, it seems that UFC programming will be on multiple platforms in 2012.  The problem is that this scenario creates an interesting transitional stage for the UFC.  We can already see this with the first UFC on FOX event, which will only feature one bout.  The co-main event of Ben Henderson vs Clay Guida currently has no TV platform because Spike still has rights to UFC content through 2011, with the exception of the UFC doing network events.  FX and Fuel TV are cable channels, which is in the same tier as Spike TV. Unless FOX or another network channel – highly doubtful – chooses to air the prelims, we will most likely see the co-main event and other prelims on the card air on Facebook or on one of FOX’s website, which is a huge blow to the fighters and their sponsors.  The exception would be if the main event – Cain Velasquez vs Junior Dos Santos – ends quick enough so that FOX can try and air some prelims, but there’s not much of a guarantee with a 1-hour time slot.

MMA Junkie reports that Saturday night’s Bellator 50 received an all-time low of 114,000 viewers. Although it tried a special start time (7pm ET/PT) to avoid conflicting with other events, the ratings reflect otherwise.

A re-airing of the card on the same night garnered just 94,000 viewers although the rebroadcast occurred during Mayweather-Ortiz.

Payout Perspective:

Bellator 50 was the first card where Spike.com streamed its prelims worldwide. It would be interesting to see the viewership for those fights. Despite its efforts, its clear that the busy night of fights and football contributed to the low number. Certainly, Bellator hopes that the ratings will bounce back but going up against Rampage-Jones this Saturday may not be the weekend for the rebound.

MMA Junkie reports that Bellator will be streaming its preliminary fights worldwide on Spike.com starting this Saturday with Bellator 50.

Last week Bellator and Spike.com began streaming its preliminary fights online. Bellator sent out the announcement via its twitter account.

Payout Perspective:

This is a good move for the company as it gives it broader exposure for the product. It also is another sign that Bellator will be moving to Spike TV. However, its another stacked weekend of combat sports with UFC Fight Night and the Mayweather-Ortiz fight to compete with in addition to college football (notably the Oklahoma-FSU game). Its interesting that Bellator’s prelim streaming on Spike.com will be competing with the UFC’s Facebook streaming. Then, the UFC will be airing on Spike TV and Bellator on MTV 2.