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[helipoison]

UFC and Spike TV Officially Announce Four-Year Contract Renewal
Posted by MMA Junkie on October 25, 2007 at 4:27 pm ET
www.mmajunkie.com

The UFC and Spike TV have agreed to a contract renewal, UFC President Dana White and Spike TV President Kevin Kay today announced.

The announcement came during a media conference call that was streamed online at Yahoo! Sports. News of the UFC-Spike TV renewal was first reported here on MMAjunkie.com earlier this afternoon.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As part of the four-year renewal, Spike TV will continue to air some familiar favorites — such as UFC Fight Night events and “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series — as well as some new projects still in development.

“We’re back in bed with these guys,” White said of Spike TV. “They’ve been amazing partners for us.“

As part of the deal, UFC and Spike TV will air two new seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2008 and 2009, and one new season in both 2010 and 2011. Additionally, Kay said a “new fight series” (which will include live fights) is still in development. One season of that new series will air in 2010 and another in 2011.

The relationship between UFC and Spike TV began in January 2005 with the launch of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The series has proven to be one of the station’s most popular programs and has launched the careers of more than two dozen current UFC fighters. As the flagship of the station, “The Ultimate Fighter” has been promoted heavily — and creatively — by Spike TV.

“Any time there’s a chance to do something with (the UFC), we jump all over it,” Kay said.

Some of those opportunities have included “The 25 Tuffest Moments of All Time” special that ran earlier this week, as well as an “Ortiz vs. Shamrock III: The Final Chapter” live event that aired in October 2006.

Spike TV has also broadcast a variety of other UFC-centric programs, including “UFC Countdown” and “UFC All-Access” programs, as well as some tape-delayed major events, including UFC 70 and UFC 75.

[rafesparza]

“We’re back in bed with these guys,” White said of Spike TV. “They’ve been amazing partners for us.“]

too...
many...
jokes...
must...
refrain...

[ceespot]

Damn, too bad for Spike.

[rafesparza]

As part of the deal, UFC and Spike TV will air two new seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2008 and 2009, and one new season in both 2010 and 2011. Additionally, Kay said a “new fight series” (which will include live fights) is still in development. One season of that new series will air in 2010 and another in 2011.[/url]

Well first off, it's great to see TUF will continue and my DVR will have something to consistently record.

And even better to see that the UFC realizes that they need to evolve their product.

I am interested in what Dana mentioned was the live portion of the event.