The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) will partner with innovative digital theatrical distribution company Cinedigm Digital Cinema (NASDAQ:CIDM) for the first ever, live 3D broadcast of a UFC Pay-Per-View event when it brings it Feb. 4, 2012 fight card to upwards of 120 theatres across the nation. The 3D broadcast will be the first of four annual Pay-Per-Views set to air in theatres via the partnership between UFC and Cinedigm.
“We are extremely pleased that UFC® has chosen to work with Cinedigm on this ground-breaking, live 3D broadcast,” said Chris McGurk, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Cinedigm. “We know the legions of avid UFC fans will be blown away when they see what promises to be an exciting night of championship fighting on the big-screen and in 3D.”
“By partnering with Cinedigm, we’re taking the UFC viewing experience to a whole new level,” UFC President Dana White said. “For the first time ever, fight fans can watch a UFC Pay-Per-View card in 3D at theatres across the country. We want UFC fans to have the best viewing experience possible and now they get a chance to experience major UFC Pay-Per-Views in 3D.”
About Ultimate Fighting Championship®Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over 12 UFC live Pay-Per-View events annually around the world. UFC content is distributed commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. Beginning November 12, 2011, FOX will broadcast four fights annually. In spring 2012, The Ultimate Fighter®, UFC’s signature weekly reality TV show debuts on FX. Globally, UFC programming is broadcast in over 132 countries and territories, reaching 597 million homes worldwide, in 21 different languages.
UFC® also boasts a powerful presence online, with UFC.com attracting over seven million unique visitors per month, while also possessing one of the most powerful social media followings in all of professional sports. To date, UFC has over six million fans on Facebook and over 300,000 followers on Twitter. In addition, UFC President Dana White is one of the most accessible and most followed executives in sports with over 1.6 million followers on Twitter. On January 22, 2011, UFC continued to set trends in social media, becoming the first major sports league to stream live, broadcast quality action on Facebook.
Ancillary businesses include best-selling DVDs, a bimonthly magazine, the best-selling UFC “Undisputed” videogame franchise distributed by THQ, UFC Gym™, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo™ festivals, branded apparel, trading cards, and articulated action figures.
