UFC
UFC NEWS: UFC enters China with new television deal
By By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Jun 29, 2009 - 3:17:35 PM

The UFC announced on Monday a new television deal that will substantially increase the viewership of MMA's #1 promotion. They have scored their first television contract in China with Inner Mongolian Television, known also as NMTV.

The station is available in 80 million homes throughout China, according to the announcement, and could reach up to 240 million viewers in the country.

NMTV will begin airing weekend timeslots of UFC programming, with 16 hours per month of shows such as "The Ultimate Fighter," "UFC Unleashed" and "UFC All Access." The network also has an option to air recent pay-per-view broadcasts.

Penick's Analysis: This is a big step in the UFC's continued goal to globalize both the sport and more specifically their brand. While there's still a large majority of the Chinese population that won't have access to this, it's a start and will begin the development of more fans and likely future fighters out of the provinces of China.

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