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Cable Technology Feature Article

March 04, 2010

Avail-TVN and UFC Bring UFC On Demand Content to Cox Communications Subscribers

By Raja Singh Chaudhary, TMCnet Contributor


Avail-TVN, a provider of digital media services in North America, has announced that it has signed a contract under which it will provide the Ultimate Fighting Championship or ‘UFC’ content to Cox (News - Alert) Communications subscribers any time they want it.

Avail-TVN works with a number of studio and television networks to offer a full content line up of MPEG-4 encoded live programming as well as video on demand content in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 to multichannel video providers throughout the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is a professional mixed martial arts organization that is owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers.

UFC's mega Pay Per View or ‘PPV’ Event, named ‘UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy’ is going to take place in March, and the digital subscribers of Cox will be able to access UFC On Demand 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. After the new partnership, the total number of UFC On Demand VOD households will raise to a figure of over 32 million.

The UFC On Demand service is comprised of three distinct services, named UFC Free Zone, UFC Fight Zone and UFC Event Zone. UFC Free Zone is an on-demand free service offering informative and entertaining short features on mixed martial arts rules, fighting disciplines, styles and techniques, while UFC Fight Zone provides single UFC library fights at a price of $2.99 per single fight and $3.99 for a two-fight combo pack, with a 24-hour viewing period.

The third service, named UFC Event Zone offers full UFC events and specials, starting at $4.99 per title for a 24-hour viewing period. The service consists of latest UFC pay-per-view events that feature fighters who will be competing in an upcoming UFC event and original 'UFC Classics' from 1993-1998.

In a release, Bob Nocera, director of marketing, new video services for Cox Communications, said UFC is one of the most popular and fast growing sports franchises around and the addition of this content to company’s On DEMAND platform is one more way that Cox is enhancing the value of its service for subscribers.
Jim Riley, chief revenue officer, Avail-TVN, said UFC enjoys a tremendously loyal fan base, and the company is thrilled to be working with Cox to offer this high value content to its subscribers. Riley noted that UFC fights are among the most watched pay per view events and the way that UFC is leveraging the on demand platform will only serve to increase its popularity.
January, Avail-TVN entered into an industry-wide, long-term digital media services deal with EPIX, a provider of premium video-on-demand and online service in order to provide video on demand facilities to more and more subscribers.

Raja Singh Chaudhary is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Raja's articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Patrick Barnard