ESPN Inks Promotion, Content Deal With MMA Site Sherdog.com

By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

ESPN Inks Cross-Promotion Deal With Mixed Martial Arts Web Site

ESPN has struck a cross-promotion and content-integration deal with mixed martial arts site Sherdog.com that will result in a dedicated MMA area within ESPN.com. The result of surging fan interest in MMA, ESPN will pay Sherdog.com an undisclosed amount to syndicate content from the site, including news, videos, statistics, fighter information, event listings and Sherdog.com’s weekly online radio show. Sherdog.com, in existence since ’97, claims more than 2 million unique visitors per month. Advertising revenue will be recouped by ESPN.com off the content. “The sport is growing very fast. We wanted to serve that interest, but we didn’t have the expertise to do that internally, even if we did have the audience,” said ESPN.com Senior VP John Kosner. “We knew we were going to have to invest in the sport, and it made a lot of sense to bring in a partner like this as opposed to building up something from scratch.” ESPN holds a similar relationship with Inside Lacrosse Magazine for its online coverage of that sport. “We had been contacted by a number of the major sites, but given ESPN’s leadership position, this was the best fit,” said Brian Fitzgerald, President of Gorilla Nation, the exclusive sales and marketing outfit for Sherdog.com’s parent company, Crave Online.

GOOD TIMING: Though the deal is a long-term agreement, the timing was designed in part to spotlight the upcoming May 26 UFC bout between light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson. Liddell is on the cover of the current issue of ESPN The Magazine.