SI’s Chris Mannix notes UFC’s debut on Fox Saturday “resonated in the boxing world.” Top Rank Chair Bob Arum said, “Putting an HBO-level fight on an ESPN or Spike would be huge.” Mannix notes that sponsorship “is the key” as second-tier HBO cards “offer mid-six-figure licensing fees.” Top Rank Exec VP/Business Development & Marketing Lucia McKelvey, “who believes the right fight on cable could generate up to $800,000 from sponsors, says Top Rank hopes to approach a network with a multifight proposal sometime” in ’12 (SI, 11/21 issue).
FIGHTING NEWS: DAILY VARIETY’s Sam Thielman reports Spike in January will debut “MMA Junkie Live,” a 30-minute show that will provide MMA fans “with coverage of the sport-fighting world.” The net confirmed that it has “plans to go all-unscripted; news content has been a large part of Spike’s mandate, with focus on videogames and other male-dominated sectors of entertainment.” The show “is a partnership with MMAjunkie.com, part of USA Today Sports Media Group.” The show “will be hosted by MMA experts and reporters who will discuss and debate the fighting news of the day” (VARIETY.com, 11/16).
NOTES: Fox Soccer announced that CNN's Piers Morgan is slated to join the studio team, providing commentary and analysis for the Liverpool-Chelsea match Sunday at 11:00am ET. The game will also air on Fox either before or after NFL coverage. Morgan will serve as an analyst for both the Nov. 20 match and Fox’ live EPL match on Super Bowl Sunday (Fox)....Verizon yesterday announced that it “expects to provide MSG Network channels in high definition by mid-December.” MSG sports programs include Sabres games, which “have been available to Verizon FiOS viewers only in standard definition” (BUFFALO NEWS, 11/17).
