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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief The UFC has a new avenue for promoting and getting their content out to the masses, as earlier this year they teamed up with TVN Entertainment, a video-on-demand distribution services provider, to create UFC On Demand content. The reach of that On Demand content has increased substantially this week as the announced their content is now available on Comcast On Demand according to a report from ITVT.com.
The new deal with Comcast brings the this On Demand material to a total of 25 million households worldwide along with the other carriers they service. All three parts of the UFC's On Demand content are part of the Comcast deal, those parts being: "1) UFC Free Zone, which offers short features on mixed martial arts rules, fighting styles and techniques, as well as event previews, full-length fighter profiles, and episodes of the show "Countdown UFC"--all free-of-charge; 2) UFC Fight Zone, which offers individual UFC library fights on a pay-per-view basis, each with a 24-hour viewing period, and which features fighters who will be competing in upcoming UFC pay-per-view events; and 3) UFC Event Zone, which offers full UFC events and specials, and which is also offered on a pay-per-view basis. The package is being dual-mapped by Comcast under a new category within its VOD service's "Sports & Fitness" and "Events & Specials" areas."
The report also states that the UFC content will be highlighted in Comcast's "Top Picks" category in the On Demand menu to further hype next month's UFC 100 event.
In the US, UFC On Demand is carried by Verizon, Insight, WOW, Bresnan, Atlantic Broadband, Armstrong, Buckeye, Blue Ridge and Wave. Deals have also recently been signed with Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and Cogeco, covering over 70% of the Canadian market.
Penick's Analysis: This is a great addition for Comcast customers. The On Demand service is one of the major things the cable giant has going really well for it and having UFC content available anytime is great for MMA fans that have it. It's another very great form of marketing for the UFC 100 event, as being one of the "Top Picks" will mean the main menu videos will hype the event up non-stop as viewers navigate the On Demand menus before picking a program. This gets them a great reach in viewership even more stuff for fans to check out.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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