UFC launches digital subscription service
Ultimate Fighting Championship, the Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts event company, has launched a new digital subscription service to capture revenue related to UFC’s international expansion in Europe and Asia.
It’s called “UFC Fight Pass,” and it will cost $9.99 a month starting March 1. MMA fans can log onto www.ufc.tv/fightpass and check out the content as a free trial until then.
UFC President Dana White said 100,000 subscriptions is a goal for the first year.
With UFC adding six fight shows in both Europe and Asia in 2014, the Zuffa-owned MMA organization wants to allow fans in North America to watch the international content through the subscription digital platform.
“It’s Netflix for the fight fan,” said Lorenzo Fertitta, chief executive of Zuffa, the parent company of UFC.
Subscribers will be able to tap UFC’s vast MMA video library and watch a minimum of 10 exclusive live events a year.
UFC’s global initiatives, such as adding more fight events in Europe and Asia plus creating local versions of the TV reality show “The Ultimate Fighter” in major markets such as Brazil and China, drove the demand for the subscription service, UFC officials said.
White said of UFC’s international growth: “It’s huge. It’s awesome. Every year we have raised the bar.”
The platform currently is live in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
UFC Fight Pass is a separate product from UFC’s pay-per-view, which is one of the organization’s main revenue sources. Fans can access both Fight Pass and pay-per-view through the parent UFC.tv website.
A UFC fight show on Jan. 4 in Singapore will be the first streamed exclusive event via the Fight Pass platform. UFC London 2014 on March 8 is another scheduled fight event that will be streamed on Fight Pass.
UFC is aiming to launch Fight Pass in non-English speaking countries in March.
Contact reporter Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273.
