The UFC Turns To The Internet With No TV Deal In Germany

Added on Nov 08, 2010 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

When you look how fast the UFC is expanding, some people get the impression that there is little or no resistance to it. Asia has been hard to crack, but they are quickly gaining ground all across the continent. However, They still run into hurdles now and again, and they ran into a big one in Germany.

They went to Cologne, Germany in June of 2009, and at the time they had a television deal in place to air the event on a Bavarian based network. Typically with a television deal they are able to gain ground because of the access they have to the country. Then we found out that fans had to prove they were adults to gain entry into the event, and then it turned even worse. The UFC’s TV deal failed under the pressure of protest and modest “outrage.”

The UFC’s Managing Director of International Development, Marshall Zelaznik, spoke with MMAweekly and said “The network that we were on is DSF. DSF broadcasts from within Bavaria, which is one of the states in Germany, where Munich is located. So the TV licensing authority in Bavaria is the one that withdrew the approvals for the UFC to air on television.” He continued “We have actually filed a lawsuit against the licensing authority there, the BLM. So we’re in the middle of litigation with the BLM, basically asserting our right that we thought it was improper to remove the UFC from television.”

Although this was a substantial hit to the promotion in Germany; They have no intention on retreating, and still plan on making MMA the biggest sport in the world. They have announced they took steps to still give the German fans access to the event, despite the deal falling through. “We were able to secure one of the leading sports websites in Germany” he said. “The group is called SPOX.com, they’re the number two or three most trafficked German language sports website, so they have become our sort of official German language partner for UFC 122.”

The UFC has always given the German fans access to the events through the German Web version of UFC.com ever since the deal fell through, but now they will be using SPOX which will air UFC 122 for free. They are trying to start this partnership because they know that the a TV deal isn’t right around the corner. Zelanznik concluded “There are networks that broadcast from within other states in Germany that have shown interest in the UFC, but aren’t prepared to commit to the UFC until this lawsuit is resolved. So we have options once the litigation is gone. Depending on what happens at which level and who appeals what, the soonest we could resolve the litigation would be around six months, but it could be another nine to 12 months.”

The UFC met with some resistance before and after the UFC99 event, and even received some vitriol from City Council members in Cologne. One was even quoted as saying “MMA is not a sport because it legitimatizes death and serious injury. The only aim is to destroy your opponent. I personally find disgusting … Here one finds the lowest human instincts.” For the record, they have no problem with any other combat sports in Cologne.