Spike TV to Stay in UFC Ring Through 2011
Cable Network Extends Deal with Mixed-Martial-Arts Organization
By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/25/2007 7:38:00 PM
Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization will remain locked up for another three years, extending their partnership through 2011.
As part of a new deal, Spike will air four more seasons of reality series Ultimate Fighter, four live fight cards per year, two seasons of a new weekly live fight series with details still to be determined and 13 one-hour episodes per year of the UFC Unleashed series featuring the UFC library of fights.
A press release announcing the deal called Spike TV the “basic-cable home to the UFC,” as the mixed-martial-arts organization and HBO were never able to close up a deal that was long in the works.
That potential deal was originally championed by former HBO chief Chris Albrecht, and it never came to fruition after Albrecht left.
