Until recently, MMA fights could only be seen on Pay Per View channels by viewers willing to shell out $39.95 or more per fight. This Saturday, CBS will air Strikeforce bouts pitting Fedor Emelianenko against Brett Rogers, Jake Shields against Jason "Mayhem" Miller and others. The fights, which should attract a worldwide audience because of the international appeal of the fighters, could change the face of MMA.
MMA Gets Worldwide Attention
Until recently, the average MMA fan knew the UFC and little else. This Saturday's event, which will be held at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, changes all of that. The promotion, which includes many of today's top MMA fighters, is good business for Strikeforce and for the companies that sponsor Strikeforce fighters.
"We’ve sponsored Jake Shields since 2005 and are thrilled to be sponsoring him in this event," said Serious Pimp CEO Damian Kutzner. “The Strikeforce bouts on CBS bring the MMA experience to a massive worldwide audience.”
In 2007, MMA powerhouse Bodog Fight signed on to become a Presenting Sponsor of several Strikeforce promotions. This marked a shift for Strikeforce from fringe to front-stage with an event at the famed Playboy Mansion
In an article titled, "Bodog Sponsors Strikeforce at the Mansion," Bodog Fight creator, billionaire entertainment mogul Calvin Ayre said, "We are thrilled to be joining forces with Strikeforce. This exciting joint venture will allow us to bring MMA fans premium entertainment featuring some of the finest fighters in the sport today."
The Changing Face of MMA
One major change came in June of this year when the Elite XC show on CBS produced significant ratings. This show revealed that MMA events are viable programming for network prime time. World Extreme Cagefighting, a sister promotion to UFC, also drew a significant audience for its featherweight title match between Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver.
In an article on Yahoo Sports titled, "Mixed martial arts business has changed," Dave Meltzer writes, "Also significant is that the audience grew by large amounts from start- to-finish. There were roughly double the number of viewers at the end of the show as there was for the beginning, something virtually unheard of in television."
"You’ll never see those kind of numbers for young viewers on CBS on a Saturday night unless it’s the NCAA basketball tournament,” noted Kelly Kahl, the senior executive vice president of programming operations for the CBS network.
“We were thrilled with the advertiser response,” said Kahl, who noted Capcom and Rock Star Video Games, who normally don’t advertise on the network, jumped on board for the show and the network sold out its ad inventory.
Strikeforce Highlights Strong Fighters
With fights like the one that pits Jake Shields against Jason "Mayhem" Miller, host of MTV's Bully Beatdown, leading up to the main fight between Fedor Emelianenko (30-1; #1 Heavyweight) and Brett Rogers, Strikeforce stands to do well on CBS by reaching out to a new audience of fight fans. The Strikeforce bouts on CBS will bring the MMA experience to a massive worldwide audience.
Jake Shields went on the record with Serious Pimp's Damian Kutzner, saying, "This is going to be an exciting fight for MMA fans.
No doubt CBS and Strikeforce execs hope his words are prophetic.
Sources:
SherDog.com, Bodog Sponsors "Strikeforce At The Mansion", September 25, 2007.
Yahoo.com, Serious Pimp Sponsoring Jake Shields in Strikeforce Title Fight vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller Saturday, November 7, 2009 on CBS, November 5, 2009.
Sports.Yahoo.com, Mixed Martial Arts Business Has Changed, Dave Meltzer, June 6, 2009.
 |
