Versus Going Side-By-Side For Commercials During UFC Broadcast

By John Ourand, Staff Writer

Versus will run "five or six" of its commercial breaks in a split-screen format next to its live coverage of Sunday's UFC2 on Versus at 9:00pm ET. Versus during these ad breaks will leave its content in a box on the upper left-hand side of the screen. The ad will run in a bigger box on the right and center of the screen, similar to how Versus handles commercial breaks during its Izod IndyCar Series telecasts. The network will not run ads during the fights, but plans to run them between rounds, from the locker room and as the fighters walk to the ring. Versus would not say which advertisers agreed to the split screen. This marks the first time UFC will use the format.