whaledog.com

Some people claim that Fox Sports charged the UFC for airing their programs like an infomercial and they also claim that Pride does the same. I haven't seen any evidence of it aside from posts on MMA forums. Have you heard anything about this?

It's possible. Like I wrote back in Dec. 2003 about the UFC's need to get a TV show within the next year, "People in the T.V. industry will tell you that you can get such a show any time you want if you are willing to pay for it."

So, I wouldn't be surprised if the UFC, Pride or the IFL paid to get on Fox Sports. But, I don't know if any of those promotions paid their way onto Fox Sports or whether they were paid a fee.

However, Jeremy Lappen of the WFA claimed in his interview with me that the WFA was on the verge of getting a reality show on Spike when the UFC paid its way onto the network.

Nevertheless, one thing I can almost guaranty is that with the success of TUF, Spike is now paying the UFC a pretty penny for TUF.

-Jeff aka whaledog

Fox Sports Net, in the last few years, has become a pay-for-play network and MMA is no exception. If you can pony up the cash to get on, they'll jump ship onto whatever you are selling. FSN has become more or less a glorified infomercial network (especially with all the major poker sites running their own tournaments on the network).

There is recent evidence of FSN doing pay-for-play with both TNA and UFC.