UFC EVENTS WILL continue to be available live to Irish viewers exclusively via eir Sport, after the world’s leading mixed martial arts organisation revealed details of its latest broadcast deal for Ireland and the UK this morning.
Despite significant interest from Sky Sports, the UFC has opted to renew its deal with BT Sport — which is available only on the eir Sport (formerly Setanta Sports) pack in Ireland — until the end of 2018.
The UFC’s previous three-year BT Sport deal was due to expire at the end of this month, culminating with this Saturday night’s UFC 201 in Atlanta, which will be headlined by a welterweight title bout between champion Robbie Lawler and challenger Tyron Woodley.
However, BT Sport will continue to be the home of UFC content in this region, with the next major event scheduled for 20 August when Dublin’s Conor McGregor goes in search of revenge in a rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 202 in Las Vegas.
According to eir Sport: “The renewal of the existing broadcast partnership with BT Sport will see the channel broadcast over 150 hours of live UFC events a year… while enhancing their content by offering every UFC event across the globe, including all US numbered pay-per-view events and all EMEA [Europe, Middle East and Africa] events live.”
The good news for UFC fans who are existing subscribers to the eir Sport pack is that they’ll continue to have access to the organisation’s content.
The bad news for those who have subscribed via the Virgin Media platform is that the eir Sport pack will no longer be available on Virgin — formerly UPC — after it was announced last week that both parties have failed to reach a new agreement over pricing.
“We are thrilled that we can continue to offer UFC to our customers. It has really exploded in popularity here over the past few years, with more and more sports fans appreciating the skills that make up MMA,” said Brian Quinn, eir Sport’s Operations Director.
“eir Sport is the only place Irish fans can see the best the UFC has to offer. It’s a hugely exciting time in the UFC, with Irish fans particularly looking forward to the August rematch of Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, which is huge news in MMA.
“You won’t miss a second of the action on the eir Sport pack and you can get it for free if you are an eir broadband customer.”
