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SKY SPORTS - (25m potential viewers)
Sky Sports is the UK equivalent of ESPN in America. They are unequivocal market leaders in the United Kingdom, and dare I say it, trend setters here in the way sport is broadcast. I annotated above that Sky is currently available to around 25 million homes. Not everyone subscribes to their sports package though, making it difficult to give an accurate figure. In addition to their own service, which has 10m subscribers, Sky channels are available on BT Vision, Top Up, Virgin, Smallworld, TalkTalk and UPC Ireland. Their rapid growth is continuing, and by 2016, their content will be viewed by more than half the UK population.
Sky Sports content is currently shown on five independent channels, all of which are available in SD and HD format. Four of the channels cover a myriad of sports, with the fifth being a dedicated sports news channel that airs 24 hours a day. Over the past 18 months they have also started to broadcast specific sports in 3D (more on that later). In addition to the big UK sports such as Football, Rugby and Cricket, they currently show the NFL and WWE. I am a huge NFL fan and the coverage over here is magnificent. It's taken a long time for the sport to catch on, but it's rapidly gaining a huge following, largely thanks to Sky. It is more popular now than ever before. Once upon a time they were at the level of popularity the UFC finds itself in now, but still managed to flourish in the UK with the help of Sky.
Sky have been showing WWE programming since 1989. In addition to the weekly content, they show almost every Pay-Per-View event on their box office channel at £14.95 a time. When considering Sky Sports as a new partner, that last sentence sets off alarm bells in my head. I despise PPV, and all it stands for, with an absolute unadulterated passion. You don't need a plutonium fueled DeLorean to predict that in the future, Sky will broadcast UFC numbered events on PPV if they ever join forces with Zuffa. For many years Sky only showed the big four WWE events (Wrestlemania etc) on PPV with the rest being free. Over time, and with the luxury of a new contract, they slowly increased the PPV shows, to a point, where only one or two are now free.
I'll admit it, I love Sky, and I love their sports coverage. They take things to the next level, and they're a company who stop at nothing to get what they want. How long before they get to broadcast the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup despite the fact they aren't even allowed too right now? It's a matter of time. They dominate the Premier League, and their recent acquisition of Formula One, further demonstrates their power, easily outbidding the BBC, a channel WE pay for. As for F1, they have even dedicated an entire channel to its coverage, who else would, or could do that? They are also marketing juggernauts. I have no concerns with their potential ability to promote the UFC to the casual sports fan. They advertise everywhere and anywhere, and I doubt there is a single 18-35 male right now, who doesn't know F1 can soon be seen on Sky Sports.
We all know that 3D TV is the future, I know it, you guys know it, Zuffa knows it. Sky have the capability to fulfill this potential viewing dream. I've seen Premier League football in 3D, and despite looking like a complete prat in the glasses, I was mesmerized by how good it was. Sadly I also witnessed the David Haye vs Wladimir Klitschko bout in 3D, and despite the lack of action, it was enough to convince me that UFC fights in 3D will be stunning. It's a long way off from now, but to know it's even a remote possibility, is good enough for me.
Another major plus point for Sky comes courtesy of Mr. Rupert Murdoch himself. This man owns British Sky Broadcasting, and yes you guessed correctly, he also owns Fox Broadcasting Company. The very same company that recently spent a reported $700 million acquiring rights to show the UFC in America over the next seven years. Unless I've missed something recently, according to Dana White, this unison has been a match made in TV heaven.
I would be amazed if Zuffa aren't currently investigating the possibility of jumping into bed with Murdoch. It doesn't take Albert Einstein to work out that BSkyB is where the UFC wants to be after August 2012. Who could blame them for having that train of thought? Not me that's for sure.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter and share your opinion - @dannymoore5515
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Staff_Editorials_19/article_12656.shtml
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