UFC® AND MULTI SCREEN MEDIA (MSM) ANNOUNCE A FOUR-YEAR DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
Las Vegas, NV (USA) and Mumbai, India – Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) and Multi Screen Media (MSM) – a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television, announced their partnership to broadcast UFC programming in India and the rest of the sub-continent. MSM’s new sports channel – SIX, will deliver the world’s largest brand of mixed martial arts to Indian fans across the country by airing live UFC events, taped specials, and exciting bouts from the vast UFC library.
“When we went to India over a year ago I felt the market held enormous potential for the UFC,” said Lorenzo Fertitta, Chairman of UFC. “India has a long history of martial arts and traditional wrestling like Kushti. Indian athletes have also demonstrated worldclass levels in combat sports as evidenced by the country’s 2008 Olympic medalists in wrestling and boxing.”
“I’ve been saying for a few years that India would be next and it was just a matter of finding the right partner in the market. MSM has been a pioneer in India, broadcasting new sports franchises like the IPL. We’ve got big plans for India and MSM couldn’t be a better partner” said Dana White, President of the UFC.
“We are delighted to be bringing the best of the sport of mixed martial arts to India,” said Man Jit Singh, CEO of Multi Screen Media Private Ltd. “Mixed martial arts requires tremendous physical conditioning, skill and strategy and we hope it will be an inspiration to young India. We hope the programming that will be premiered on our Sports channel – SIX, will motivate a new generation to compete on the world stage in one of the fastest growing sports.”
About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®:
Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, and with offices in London, England, Toronto, Canada and Beijing, China, UFC® produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world.
The world’s largest Pay-Per-View provider, UFC programming, including company’s famed The Ultimate Fighter series, is distributed on the FOX Network and PPV in the United States. In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 22 different languages. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with nearly two million followers on Twitter.
Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs, an internationally distributed magazine, the best-selling UFC Undisputed® video game franchise distributed by THQ, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel, trading cards, and action figures.
Indian fans have access to exclusive content at UFC.com, http://facebook.com/UFCIndia and http://twitter.com/UFCIndia
About MSM
Sony Pictures Television (SPT) backs Multi Screen Media Private Limited, which is India’s leading television network. It comprises of Sony Entertainment Television (SET), one of India’s leading Hindi general entertainment television channels; MAX, India’s premium Hindi movies and special events channel; SAB, a family comedy entertainment channel; PIX, the English movie channel; MIX a refreshing Hindi music channel and SIX, India’s Premier Sports Entertainment Channel. Multi Screen Media’s channels are available across the Globe and influence over 400 million viewers in the Indian sub-continent, and the South Asian Diaspora worldwide.
Sony Entertainment Television is a part of the network of channels distributed by The One Alliance – a joint venture between Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd. and Discovery Communications India. Other channels in the One Alliance network include MAX, AXN, Animax, PIX, SAB, MIX, SIX, Sony Aath, Discovery, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo and Discovery HD World, it also distributes the popular TV Today Network channels – Headlines Today, Aaj Tak and Tez.
SIX’s viewers will have access to UFC and a wide array of Sporting content on www.SonySIX.com