Swinny
11-28-2012, 08:40 AM
FOX EXEC HOPES SUPER BOWL XLVIII AND UFC DOVETAIL IN 2014
BY STEVEN MARROCCO ON NOV 27, 2012 AT 5:15 PM ET
A weekend traditionally targeted by the UFC to piggyback on the Super Bowl may not host a pay-per-view, if broadcast partner FOX has its say.
FOX President Eric Shanks said that the network would "love" to see a UFC on FOX event held in conjunction with Super Bowl XLVIII, which is set for Feb. 2, 2014, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
"We think that Super Bowl week in New York is going to be unlike anything else, and … we're going to own that week of sports television," he said. "There's nothing better than we can think of than a big fight that week."
Shanks said he is working to convince UFC executives Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta to make the idea a reality. He joked that FOX wanted an outdoor stadium show in the chilly East Coast weather.
FOX, which broadcasts games in the NFL's National Football Conference, in 2010 won the broadcast rights to Super Bowl XLVIII.
The UFC has scheduled a total of six pay-per-view events the night prior to the country's biggest sporting event, beginning with the 2006 rubber match between Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture at UFC 57. All events have taken place on the promotion's home turf of Las Vegas.
This year, UFC 156 is scheduled for Feb. 2, 2013, at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view event features a featherweight title headliner between champ Jose Aldo and ex-lightweight champ Frankie Edgar.
While he declined to give details on a sports channel in the works for the network, which would likely involve UFC programming, Shanks told MMAjunkie.com that in the near term, four UFC on FOX events are expected per year.
BY STEVEN MARROCCO ON NOV 27, 2012 AT 5:15 PM ET
A weekend traditionally targeted by the UFC to piggyback on the Super Bowl may not host a pay-per-view, if broadcast partner FOX has its say.
FOX President Eric Shanks said that the network would "love" to see a UFC on FOX event held in conjunction with Super Bowl XLVIII, which is set for Feb. 2, 2014, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
"We think that Super Bowl week in New York is going to be unlike anything else, and … we're going to own that week of sports television," he said. "There's nothing better than we can think of than a big fight that week."
Shanks said he is working to convince UFC executives Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta to make the idea a reality. He joked that FOX wanted an outdoor stadium show in the chilly East Coast weather.
FOX, which broadcasts games in the NFL's National Football Conference, in 2010 won the broadcast rights to Super Bowl XLVIII.
The UFC has scheduled a total of six pay-per-view events the night prior to the country's biggest sporting event, beginning with the 2006 rubber match between Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture at UFC 57. All events have taken place on the promotion's home turf of Las Vegas.
This year, UFC 156 is scheduled for Feb. 2, 2013, at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view event features a featherweight title headliner between champ Jose Aldo and ex-lightweight champ Frankie Edgar.
While he declined to give details on a sports channel in the works for the network, which would likely involve UFC programming, Shanks told MMAjunkie.com that in the near term, four UFC on FOX events are expected per year.