Issue 109
December 2013
The UFC recently signed a new agreement to stop its video content being uploaded to the internet without its permission. The deal with Las Vegas company Bent Pixels is intended to help the promotion keep a closer watch over when and where its video content’s copyright is being infringed upon online.
As well as helping the promotion manage YouTube’s built-in anti-piracy solution, Bent Pixels will use its own smart software to scour other streaming video services to identify “fan-generated content” and “reclaim” it for the promotion.
The move is intended to make it more difficult for people to consume UFC video through anything other than the organization’s legal official channels.
Bent Pixels is also due to help the UFC with other elements of its web video content, says COO Marty Cordova. “Our goal is to provide strategic insight to help the UFC identify what video content fans like and want more of on YouTube while also monitoring what branded content is being altered,” he said in a statement.
The UFC has been stepping up its fight against pirated live streams and uploaded video of its events in recent years, and was a supporter of the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in 2012.
Industry jobs
Who: Michael DiSabato
Role: Owner of CF Athletic
Info: Former college wrestler and founder of the Cage Fighter and MMA Elite brands, among others
What is your average day?
“I have an office but I’m not good at sitting in an office. I have ADHD but what I try to do every day is set goals on how many calls I want to make. It’s like going to practice and doing drills – put your chinstrap on and go to work, so to speak. Not every day is the same, which is what I love about what I do. I couldn’t go to a cubicle every day. I get to be creative. My greatest talent is that I get to create and build. I get to use relationships and try to make people and relationships fit together. That’s the fun part of what I do.”
Who is the most authentic guy you have dealt with?
“Mark Coleman doesn’t get enough credit for what he’s done for the sport. In my opinion if Mark hadn’t got to the sport when he did, the sport wouldn’t have been authenticated for college wrestlers. He was the first prominent Olympic-caliber wrestler to make the transition and say, ‘I’m gonna do this and I’m gonna be very good.’ And I love BJ Penn. He is one of the first guys we ever signed and I consider him family.
“I am very tight with Mo Lawal. I think he is one of the smartest athletes out there, he gets it. He’s authentic and doesn’t care; he tells it how it is. I respect the fact that he speaks his mind and wears his emotions on his sleeve. I gravitate toward the wrestlers like Gray Maynard, Frankie Edgar, and so on. I couldn’t even say one guy is more authentic than the other.”
500,000
Online video guardian Bent Pixels estimates total views of the UFC’s video content on YouTube will soon hit 500 million.
ONE FC signs Yahoo Sports deal in South East Asia
Visitors to the South East Asian version of the Yahoo Sports website will now have a direct link to One FC news and video after the two entities announced a deal in September.
Fans in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam will now be able to access exclusive One FC behind-the-scenes content, highlights, profiles and even more, directly through the Yahoo Sports website.
One FC CEO Victor Cui said: “This partnership is a game changer that will redefine online content for Yahoo and One FC. This partnership is the first time Yahoo has formed one with a mixed martial arts organization.”
Rallying/Crashed: The MMA business can be cruel and kind
Rallying: XYIENCE
Primarily known as an energy drink brand, Xyience has become heavily associated with the UFC. And now with a redesigned supplement line, as well as a series of still hydration drinks, it looks as though Xyience has an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of further entrenching itself in the MMA and sports industries.
Crashed: Stagr
Around five years ago, the Stagr logo – an online custom apparel service with a view to applying that idea to brands, musicians and no doubt fighters – could be found on plenty of main card UFC stars. The project was unsuccessful and today it has vanished from the world’s rings entirely.
According to ONE FC CEO Victor Cui, his promotion has a better than 90% share of the MMA market in Asia.
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