Contrary to various reports that misquoted a Nov. 24 article in Der Spiegel, Europe’s largest weekly magazine, no broadcasting agreement has been reached with any of the TV channels that Zuffa LLC., the parent company of the UFC, is currently negotiating with.
There is still ample time to hammer out a deal, however. UFC 99 is scheduled to take place on June 13 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne.
Should Zuffa and ProSieben reach an agreement, it will not only give the Munich-based channel the rights to UFC content in Germany, but to Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Europe as well.
ProSieben has a market share of 6.5 percent for approximately 5.5 million viewers. ProSieben also enjoys strong ratings in the coveted 18-to-34 demographic (sometimes as high as 18 percent) and boasts the most successful German television host in Stefan Raab.
Evidently, ProSieben isn't the only broadcaster in Germany interested in airing UFC content:
While ProSieben seems destined to air live events and a possible German/European season of "The Ultimate Fighter," Sherdog.com has also confirmed that Zuffa has begun talks with DMAX, a men's lifestyle channel in Germany which is the home of programs like "American Chopper" and "Miami Ink." DMX would be a solid choice to broadcast previous seasons of "The Ultimate Fighter," as well as other programming like "UFC Unleashed" and "UFC Wired."
"It is true, we are currently in talks with the UFC," wrote Stefanie Braun, national press officer for DMAX, in an email to Sherdog.com. "DMAX is interested in ‘Ultimate Fighting’ because young men are interested in it and DMAX, as the men's lifestyle channel in Germany, is catering to exactly this target audience."
While the UFC hasn't reached a deal as reported earlier, the significant German interest in their products is encouraging for the promotion and the sport of MMA. Remember, UFC 99 isn't set to take place until June, so there's still a lot of time for the event to come together.