BBC partners with the UFC

Today it was announced that the BBC and UFC have “formed an editorial and promotional partnership” to bring UFC content to the BBC’s newly launched digital platform.

BBC three aims to bring their audience a host of UFC coverage kicking off with ‘UFC London’  starting when the fighters start to arrive in London for the event. During the event they will be live blogging, and providing clips to post on their platform.

The main aim is to provide coverage of  UFC events within the EMEA(Europe, the Middle East and Africa) but they have shown interest in covering international events as well.

James Elliot the UFC’S EMEA General Manager and Vice President, said: : “We are thrilled to be recognised as a valuable asset for BBC Three and the wider BBC Sport team.

“Audiences across the UK & Ireland are becoming more and more knowledgeable about the skill, athleticism and ethics of MMA athletes and the great events and content produced by UFC, which is driving fans to seek content from media outlets. “BBC Three is a perfect fit for UFC and we look forward to an exciting year working together to bring great content to their audiences.”  

The BBC have a strong history of covering with sport and “emerging sports” Damian Kavanagh, Controller at  BBC Three backed this up by saying: “BBC Three has a history of covering emerging sports that appeal to young audiences in new ways, and our coverage of UFC will be no different.”

“We already offer sport on The Daily Drop and it’s right we cover one of the fastest growing, and most talked about sports in the world, which has millions of fans in the UK, in a BBC Three way.”

“The deal is mutually beneficial and demonstrates how BBC Three can experiment with new types of content, from new partners, in new ways.” “Last year we made a documentary featuring MMA and offered live coverage of League of Legends from Wembley with both well received by younger audiences, so in the spirit of innovation, we welcomed the chance to work with the UFC.”

Great news for more mainstream coverage of the sport in general in the UK and it will be interesting to see how it develops.