Spike Launching UFC Destination Site

UltimateFighter.com will feature archive of all episodes and fights from Spike show, additional content

By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/25/2010 2:12:03 PM

MTV Networks-owned Spike TV is expanding its relationship with the UFC, creating a branded destination site for avid fans of mixed martial arts. The site, UltimateFighter.com, will be tied to the debut of the 11^th season of the Spike series The Ultimate Fighter, and will feature every episode and every fight from seasons one through 10 of that show. Season 11 will not be available until after the television window, but the site will still have exclusive content around the show, including the official post-show The Aftermath.

For example, in the season 11 premiere, a number of fighters will have to battle in the octagon to see who advances. Only clips from the fights will make it on air, with the entire bouts being posted on the new site.

Visitors will also be able to look at pages for individual fighters, and can watch exclusive highlight packages created just for the site. If they watch a fight, they can skip straight to specific moves executed by either of the fighters, or to the knockout blow.

Clips from UFC pay-per-view events will not be available on the site, though Spike executives said that the video library could be expanded to include other UFC programming if the fan (and advertiser) response is positive.

MTV Networks Entertainment Group Executive VP of Digital Media Erik Flannigan says the decision to create the site was spurred on when Spike and UFC looked at where people searching on the web for info about fighter names and video ended up. More often then not, third party sites such as YouTube were at the top of the search results. The new site is designed to capture some of those searches.

"While the business model for UltimateFighter.com will yield material direct revenue to both parties through ad sales, sponsorship and other distribution opportunities, the value of the property is equally tied to converting more of those casual fans to paying customers of the UFC, as well as converting a massive group of people scouring the web to see footage of fights into viewers of The Ultimate Fighter and other UFC programming on Spike TV," Flannigan said at a press event in New York Thursday (March 25).

To that end, when a UFC pay-per-view event is coming up, a house ad towards the top of the page will feature quick links letting visitors buy tickets or order the pay-per-view.

The Marines, Burger King and TapouT are the launch sponsors of UltimateFighter.com, with revenue split between Spike and the UFC. Much like UFC sponsors get placement on the mat in the octagon, advertisers on the site will have their ads featured on a virtual mat located behind the video player.

Flannigan says the site and video archive will remain free, though they reserve the right to charge for other products-such as a mobile application- down the line.

UltimateFighter.com is the latest effort from the MTV Networks Entertainment Group to create a dedicated site with a deep video archive for its most popular programming. Other sites include SouthParkStudios.com, TheDailyShow.com and ColbertNation.com. In fact, UltimateFighter.com is built off of the Colbert platform, though visitors likely won't see many similarities between the two.

Also like those sites, UltimateFighter.com will feature social media support, including Facebook Connect and Twitter connectivity.