TUF 12 to air on Sky Sports 2 in the UK

The deal to screen the Team GSP v Team Koscheck Series from Sept 21 on Sky Sports 2 represents a major move forward in broadcasting for the leading mixed martial arts organisation, UFC.

Marshall Zelaznik, president of the UFC’s International Division, told Telegraph Sport: “It is hard to build a sport on a narrow distribution platform, and our plan is to allow fans to see the product as inexpensively as possible. We are always conscious of how we make the sport more accessible and more available.”

He said: “Putting The Ultimate Fighter on Sky will create a halo effect of mainstream awareness. We are probably three or four years behind the US. We are trying to get it exposed to a new sports fan. We know we already have a solid fan base, but being on the Sky platform means an even bigger market to showcase the sport to mainstream sports fans.”

“Misconceptions about the sport are breaking down as more people become aware of it. They will see on this series that these are real athletes, with real dreams.”

However!!! Does this mean we might see a move towards Sky TV putting the main event cards on PPV in the UK. Would that really be the best move for the UFC attracting new fans which is clearly the main goal in the UK and Europe? Would Armbar members pay for it on Sky Box Office??

if the put the odd big card on box office ill pay for it as i only get espn for the ufc so ill be saving £9 a month on that.

PPV's a bitch and everyone is anti it,because it ends up costing you a small fortune in the long run(over the years I could of bought myself a small house or a nob out boat with the amount of money i've spent on the things)but like what always happens with everything that ends up going PPV,theres always enough people that justify it and end up paying it in the end.(and I'm one of them, one of the ways i justify it now is,if i went out on a saturday night,i'd end up spending alot more than $40(just under 30 quid),and probably not enjoy it as much and end up feeling like shit the next day,god I'm getting old)

I would love to have it the way you guys do,by paying 10 quid a month for ESPN,so for your lots sake I'd hope it stays that way,we never had that chioce,it's always been PPV over here.

It just comes down to how much do you want to watch it or are you willing to go without,if it does go to PPV.

I suppose you can hope on finding reliable quality streams,,which personally do my head in,getting sometimes a poor quality,lagging shit picture,with my fingers crossed they don't cut it off half way through the event,which personally ruins my enjoyment of it,so I just end up just paying the money to watch the sport and Org I love,with a guarenteed quality,good picture in the comfort of my living room,sitting back in my recliner watching it on my 52 inch screen.(sorry that sounds like I'm showing off,but he's my baby thats ran beautifully for the last 6 years and one of the best things I've ever bought,it would be cruel and a missuse of the thing to not let him show me all the UFC events on it )

by the way guys, in the last 12 months, simply paying for every PPV from the UFC has cost fans in some areas of the USA nearly $1000
(i think 948 was the figure or something)

In 2010,the UFC are putting on 24 events,16 of them are PPV,I pay $45 (30 quid)per event,which costs $720(480 quid) per year.

It's $55(36 quid) each if you buy it in high Def,no-one pays more than that,it's a standard PPV charge,which works out at $880(576 quid) per year.

this is on US PPV prices,I don't know what the UK pay for PPV's like WWE,Boxing Etc,but I'm sure it is less than the 30 quid an event we pay

what do you normally pay for PPV's at home now?

the only PPVs we get are the big UK boxing fights, they are usually around £15 on sky box office....and im not sure how much the MMA events on primetime (sylvia/pudz, shamrock/rizzo, sylvia/buentello) have been , i think around £7.

I know things are tight for everybody nowdays,but if the most you can expect to pay is 15 pounds each,it's not that bad,thats still only 240 pounds a year,only 4 pound 64 a week(I'm not sure on my UK prices anymore,but probably the price of a pint and a half)and if it's only 7 quid,well thats 112 quid a year,just over 2 quid a week.(lucky barstools )

Surely sacrificing a couple of pints or a couple of chocy bars and a few cans of pop a week,to get to watch 16 UFC events a year would be well worth it.

In NZ we have to PPV the events but there is nothing else on TV at all. They have been getting better, showing MMA Live and Inside MMA on ESPN but they have only just started playing TUF: UK v US like it is new.

PPV events cost NZ$25 which is cheaper than what the Americans get it for from what payne says but it does get expensive. They get a bit cheeky and try to sell you events after they happen. For example, they showed the Fedor v Rogers Strikeforce a week later but charged $15.

Like payne I much prefer to watch it on the big screen tv with a beer and a joint instead of trying to find a reasonable stream. Though I will usually record it and start watching about an hour into it so I can fast forward the marketing bullshit and Goldberg's prefight cliches....

The best thing about watching them here is the timing - events kick off at around 2pm Sunday afternoon.

But we only get the numbered UFCs not the fight nights and on vs ones...

payneNglory1 wrote:I know things are tight for everybody nowdays,but if the most you can expect to pay is 15 pounds each,it's not that bad,thats still only 240 pounds a year,only 4 pound 64 a week(I'm not sure on my UK prices anymore,but probably the price of a pint and a half)and if it's only 7 quid,well thats 112 quid a year,just over 2 quid a week.(lucky barstools )

Surely sacrificing a couple of pints or a couple of chocy bars and a few cans of pop a week,to get to watch 16 UFC events a year would be well worth it.

yeah i guess...but to be able to buy the PPV you have to subscribe to the channel which is £16 a month for sky sports.

its not bad compared to what YOU are paying, but when you are used to paying alot less, it would suck to have to PPV for UFC.

yeah I completely agree with you,it would suck compared with the fantastic value you are getting it for at the moment,but i'm just trying to point out that it's wouldn't be that bad,especially when you compare it to the rest of the world and what we get charged,mostly all of us moan about it,but still end up paying the PPV prices in the end.

for you guys,it's definitely not bad enough to say,fuck it i'll never watch it if it goes PPV,not saying that you are saying that,but you know there will be loads that will to start with,but they to will eventually follow suit and start paying it like the rest.

I suppose it depends how bad your addiction to the sport is,me personally,if there is an event on from any Org on TV,I'm watching it,I'll only stream if thats my last resort,like I did for shark fights the other night.

We all have to pay the subscription fee's anyway,if you want to watch MMA or not.
I don't need to subscribe to showtime if I want to pay for a showtime boxing event,is it differant there,like you can't order a sports PPV on sky unless you have Sky sports?

payneNglory1 wrote:I know things are tight for everybody nowdays,but if the most you can expect to pay is 15 pounds each,it's not that bad,thats still only 240 pounds a year,only 4 pound 64 a week(I'm not sure on my UK prices anymore,but probably the price of a pint and a half)and if it's only 7 quid,well thats 112 quid a year,just over 2 quid a week.(lucky barstools )

Surely sacrificing a couple of pints or a couple of chocy bars and a few cans of pop a week,to get to watch 16 UFC events a year would be well worth it.

Fuck you. Chocolate is important.

you fat bastard,you fat bastard

when does tuf 12 start on sky?

I think it should have started last week because the first episode of TUF was last wednesday.

first episode should be tomorrow night on SKY sports 2

Can'twait for this series, the smack talking should be great!!!!!!!

excellent i cannot wait.

I enjoyed the first episode,I won't say to much about what happens in the first episode,untill you've all watched it,but I will tell you that it starts off in quick spectacular style.

At the end of the show it gives you a sneak peak of what to expect through out the season,and it looks like plenty of the same big ego's clashing in the House and Kos looks like he's going to be involved in plenty of shit,also they show you a shot of Mike Tyson sitting ringside.

i hope it eventually goes back to how it was in seasons 1-3 with the challenges and stuff. also how many tuf are they planning to make.

according to my sky planner TUF is on tonight 10pm on sky sports 4.