Rumors have been swirling about the launch of a new Fox sports channel for months. Finally, Fox announced today that they indeed are starting a new sports channel, calling it Fox Sports 1.

The UFC was directly addressed in the press release:

UFC – Featured on Wednesday nights; live FIGHT NIGHTS through 2014, the first is scheduled for launch night, Saturday, Aug. 17; FOX event preliminary cards; UFC Tonight, the weekly authority for UFC news and information; 14 Saturday pay-per-view preliminary cards; hundreds of hours of library programs and events.

The channel will be a 24 hour sports programming destination. This is big news for the UFC who has a multi-million dollar contract with Fox, and the announcement included an event on the launch date. On Saturday August 17^th Fox Sports 1 will launch, and featured that night in primetime will be UFC on Fox Sports 1 1. No announcement was made on who would be on the card.

A few hours after the press release it has been reported that on Super Bowl weekend there will be a UFC card on the Wednesday before. This may come as a surprise to some considering that weekend is already a PPV staple for the UFC. They have always tried to put on a superstar filled card for that weekend. Again, no word on who would be featured on that card either.

With the start of this channel things will be a little different for fight fans. The preliminary fights for the Fox and PPV cards will no longer be on F/X, and UFC Tonight will no longer be on FUEL. Both of those programs will move to Fox Sports 1. A total of 12 FIGHT NIGHTS will be featured on Wednesdays through 2014 on the channel. Some reports had this as weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Dana White has told numerous reporters that in actuality the FIGHT NIGHTS will be scattered throughout the next year or so, there is no set schedule.

This channel will also be where UFC Unleashed and replays of UFC events will be played which is likely what they meant when they said, “hundreds of hours of library programs and events.”

Looking over this press release and reading between the lines this is going to be mainly a UFC channel. They will have other sports programming scattered throughout, but the main ingredient of this recipe is the UFC. This is a great sign that Fox is standing behind the UFC no matter what happens in the ratings. Fox is going to do everything in their power to make this relationship lucrative for both sides. 

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