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In 2009, the UFC was pulling in about $3 million ($6 million real) a year from their partnership with the Brazilian TV network Globo. UOL's Noticias da TV reports that by 2012 that number was up to $60 million ($120 million real). That's a massive jump over a short span, much of which rides on the back of the Globo channel Combate, which has seen their subscription numbers jump from 30,000 to 360,000 over the same three years.
Globo's partnership with the UFC is not a recent occurrence, the two have had a broadcast deal in place for the last eleven years. But in the years prior to the UFC's expansion into the region that relationship was struggling. Now Brazil represents the second largest market for the UFC, behind North America. Globo does not release revenue figures publicly, so it's unlikely that we'll be getting figures from this year anytime soon. But it would be interesting to see them in light of the recent struggles the UFC has had selling tickets for Brazilian events and reports that the last season of TUF Brazil struggled badly to draw ratings.
There's little doubt that the UFC's expansion into Brazil has been almost entirely a positive one. However, it remains to be seen whether the gains will be short lived or whether they've really set themselves as a long term entertainment staple in the country.
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