UFC Inks Deal With World’s Largest Spanish-Speaking Media Company
PRESS RELEASE — The organization that changed the fight business forever, and the brand that delivers the most exciting live event around the globe, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, announced today that it has signed a major new multi-faceted television agreement in Mexico with the world’s largest Spanish-speaking media company, Grupo Televisa, S.A.B.
Starting this summer, Grupo Televisa will launch Televisa Deportes Network (TDN), a new national sports network fully distributed to all cable and satellite households in Mexico and in countries in Latin America. TDN will begin telecasts with a UFC partnership already in place, becoming the first television network in Mexico to air UFC live events and flagship programming.
In celebration of TDN’s historic launch, Grupo Televisa is embracing its UFC partnership with a nationwide broadcast of the UFC 100 mega-event on Saturday, July 11. UFC 100 will air on Channel 9, one of its free television networks in Mexico, starting at 10pm Central Time.
“I’ve said for years that we would love to bring the UFC to Mexico, some of the greatest fighters in history are from Mexico, and the fans there are among the most passionate and loyal in all of sports,” said Dana White, UFC President. “We are honored that Grupo Televisa will launch TDN with UFC live events and programs, and that UFC will now be available to our fans in Mexico, starting with Channel 9’s free broadcast of UFC 100 on July 11.”
“The primary objective is to satisfy the demand of the viewers who are always critical and demanding and always looking for new sports content. That is why we are celebrating the exclusive UFC 100 transmission in Mexico – UFC has positioned itself as the worldwide leader in Mixed Martial Arts,” said Ricardo Perez Teuffer, Vice President of Sports and Special Events, Televisa.
TDN’s UFC schedule will consist of live UFC Fight Night events, UFC Countdown shows, one-hour feature programs that take an in-depth and exclusive look at UFC fighters preparing for an upcoming fight, and the weekly series Guerreros del UFC, a Spanish-language compilation show that features the greatest bouts throughout the UFC’s 15-year history.
This is the first major television deal for UFC live events in Mexico, but only the first of many future ventures for the brand in Latin America.
Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., is the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world and a major player in the international entertainment business.
UFC television programming can be seen in over 100 countries and territories worldwide in 17 different languages. UFC is the largest pay-per-view content provider in the world and is the fastest growing sports organization in history.
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That is very interesting, while in Costa Rica earlier this year I was trying to find televised UFC fights (I think FightNight or something was on then) and I couldn’t find anything to do remotely with MMA in that country… I had to come up with interesting ways to find the fights.. So it will be good for Latin America to recieve the UFC… I guess its event better that once again UFC 100 is free in another country (?????????), but anyways when I go back to Latin America perhaps now people will understand what I mean about MMA (or most likely UFC) rather than ask if I want to watch boxing, which mind you I watch some crazy featherweights battle while in Costa Rica, it was like the good ‘ol days of boxing ya know when fighters fought with passion and such.. o well
From what I understand a lot of Latin America, aside of course from Brazil, is still all about baseball and soccer and boxing.
Penetrating into Latin America should provide a new audience, which provides more money, which helps the UFC penetrate more markets, and so on.
I wonder who will be Latin America’s “Michael Bisping”?
Cain Velasquez? Possibly a returning Roger Huerta? Someone not yet with the promotion, like LW Billy Evangelista?
Also, does anyone see a time when the UFC will try going into Brazil, or is their combat sport market too locked up and unaccessible?
From what I understand Brazillians don’t consider themselves “Latino”, or part of the Latin American sub-culture. South American, yes. Latin American? Not even close, or so a friend tells me who runs a Brazillian grocery store…
“Latin America/n” usually refers to Spanish speaking countries and people, Brazil is a Portuguese speaking country.
Also from what I understand business in Brazil is not all that dissimilar to business in Mexico and/or Japan, you have to pay certain people for the “right” to do business in the country, and other shady items.
latin america is usually central america and some south american countries, but yeah Brazil however no. I know some guys from Chile who consider themselves latino, but it differs…mostly central america though