Issue 111

February 2014

The UFC is expanding its video offering by introducing a subscription-based online network. Fans will be able to watch live events as well as on-demand and behind-the-scenes programming for a monthly fee.

The digital portal will primarily work as a platform to allow the UFC to hold live events in international markets at times its US broadcast deal cannot accommodate by instead streaming that content to users via this new channel. 

UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, who first told FO of the product several months prior, said: “The UFC’s expansion into international markets, and the extended calendar of events, is certainly part of the reason it makes sense to launch the digital network in 2014. UFC fans are the most passionate fans in the world, and we want to ensure they can see every fight and every event no matter where in the world it’s from.” 

The ‘web-based TV network’ is set to give the UFC more freedom in providing the rest of the world with tailored events in local prime time to maximize its growth in those territories, as well as allow followers the chance to watch content which otherwise wouldn’t be shown via traditional media. The service first rolls out in the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, with plans for a European launch a few months later.

Industry jobs

Who: Andrew Whitaker

Role: CEO of Glory Sports International

Info: Ex UFC and WWE executive who heads the world’s leading kickboxing promotion which is home to Tyrone Spong, Gokhan Saki and others. 

How did you get involved with Glory?

“At the end of 2012 I was invited to join the board at Glory – I’ve known one of the founders, Marcus Luer, for many years. I went to see my first event in Rome and immediately saw the very strong potential of this great sport to be taken and put out on a multi-platform basis, sort of country by country, and fully launch out the league.

“At the beginning of 2013, out in Japan, they offered me the role of CEO, which I accepted. So since February 2013 that’s what I’ve been doing. Prior to that I was working for an advisory and consultancy firm, and prior to that I was at WWE for a good number of years both domestically and internationally.”

What made you want to head up a young company like Glory?

“It’s a challenge. It reminds me of a number of years ago when the business at WWE internationally was tiny, it was referred to as ‘tape sales,’ as a few million dollars. I’ve obviously done that before, albeit in a more entertainment side of the business – we still worked at selling to the sports side of the business as well – but that’s part of it. 

“When Marcus Luer and the two other founders, Scott Rudmann and Pierre Andurand, asked me to be CEO, I did the due diligence and saw the size of the market. We have the talent, we have the athletes under contract exclusively to Glory, and that’s the attraction upon which everything else is built. It has everything it needs to be a hugely successful league.” 

2011

Glory Sports International was founded in 2011, after evolving from an MMA and kickboxing promotion that had started life five years prior.

52% 

UFC president Dana White says the promotion could hold up to 50 events in 2014 – a 52% increase from 2013. 

Anderson Silva seals luxury watch endorsement

Ultra-expensive Swiss watch brand Hublot has signed up to sponsor UFC middleweight great Anderson Silva. The luxury watchmaker is notable for producing the most expensive watch in the world – a $5m diamond-encrusted timepiece. 

The contract means the former pound-for-pound leader will have 100 Hublot Spider signature watches made, as is common with the company’s endorsement deals, that are set to retail at around $30,000. It is thought 10will be gold and likely to be sold at a higher price mark.

Rallying/Crashed: The MMA business can be cruel and kind

Rallying: Banned Fightwear

Banned Fightwear is seeing a growing footprint in mixed martial arts via endorsements with the likes of ex UFC welterweight Paul Daley and an improving range of clothing that’s been seen on the likes of actress Gemma Atkinson. The family-run company has even expanded into the fast-developing sport of drift racing.

Crashed: Luzbel

Luzbel, the devil-inspired apparel brand that once sponsored Skrap Pack members Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez, is no more. The brand prided itself on its “aggressive-nature designs” and lower price but failed to make a lasting impact in an MMA industry that many companies have discovered is notoriously tough to crack.