LOS ANGELES — FOX Sports is getting in the Octagon with the UFC.
The American media giant announced a multi-year partnership Thursday with the UFC that includes four live events to be broadcast each year.
FOX Sports, which is home to major sporting events such as the Super Bowl and World Series, will air its first live match during prime time on Nov. 12.
It will also take over the UFC’s reality series The Ultimate Fighter next spring and move it to the FX channel, FOX’s general entertainment cable network.
That ends a six-year partnership the UFC had with Spike TV, which announced earlier Thursday that The Ultimate Fighter Season 14 in September would be its last.
FX will also broadcast four-to-six live UFC events annually.
“We’re excited to be part of the FOX family,” said UFC president Dana White in a statement. “The UFC is finally where it belongs on the number one network in the (United States) and aligned with the most prestigious sports properties in the world. I’ve always said that the UFC will be the biggest sport in the world and with this relationship it will become a reality.”
Besides live fights, FOX networks will also handle pre- and post-shows, countdown shows, UFC Unleashed, UFC Primetime, the UFC Knockout series, Best of Pride and weigh-in specials.
FOX added that mixed martial arts draws a young demographic that will be attractive to advertisers. According to the network, the median age for the Super Bowl is 43, compared to UFC on Spike in 2011 which was 36, with 56 per cent of those viewers falling into the adult 18-34 bracket.