For all my bitching of late, the UFC had pretty good news today on the UK front. MMA Weekly reports that they have come to terms with Setanta, which is an international premium TV company that costs £9.99 (about $20) per month:
Setanta is an international sports broadcaster with operations in Great Britain, Ireland, Luxembourg, the United States, Canada and Australia. It owns and operates premium sports television channels that are made available on a subscription basis. Setanta has over three million subscribers.
They had been aiming for this deal for months, and it's a good step. They are probably getting a decent amount for it, because I think a lot of people will subscribe to the channel that don't have it in order to get UFC programming. The ultimate goal is still to get PPV, but for now it's a good step in pushing forward the international TV presence, and creating a revenue stream overseas, in time for UFC 80.
Speaking of UFC 80, don't forget to participate in the upcoming Bloody Elbow/Any Given Sunday Contest! With all these shows on PPV, free money sounds pretty nice.