UFC and RS Thailand (Channel 8) on Wednesday announced a multi-year content deal renewal to bring fight fans in Thailand localized premium UFC content including live international events and original programming such as UFC Countdown, Road to the Octagon, UFC Unleashed and Ultimate Knockouts.
RS Thailand partners with the UFC in growing Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in Thailand while connecting the millions of sports enthusiasts in the region with some of the planet’s fittest athletes. Last year, RS Thailand and UFC brought newly crowned UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway (17-3-0 fighting out of Waianae, Hawaii) to Thailand to meet fans and Muay Thai boxing legend Samart Payakaroon where they exchanged training tips. Both organizations are committed to delivering on-ground activations that will see even more international UFC stars coming in to the region to help grow the sport.
“Thailand is a growing market where UFC programming has eight times more hours viewed than the next largest MMA promotion. We see this renewal as a positive indicator of the increased interest from fans and brands in MMA,” UFC Senior Vice President of International and Content Joe Carr said. “RS Thailand has been a valued partner and we look forward to continuing our relationship and working together in give fans easy access to the best in MMA content.”
According to results provided by research firm Futures Sport + Entertainment, UFC is the leading provider of MMA TV content across Asia. The study highlighted that UFC’s viewership in Asia has grown at an exponential rate and surpasses all local MMA promotions in the region – 26 times the number of hours compared to the next largest MMA promotion in Asia.
“This contract renewal confirmed a very promising path and partnership between Channel 8 and UFC. The world’s best MMA sports content brand UFC coupled with the local king of fight sports allows Channel 8 to strengthen it’s position within the digital tv market in Thailand.” said Mrs. Pornpan Techarungchaikul, RS’s COO.
RS Thailand (Channel 8) is operated under the concept of “In Depth and Intense.” With the variety of contents ranging from drama series, current news, variety program and sports program, Channel 8 is placed in the top-ranked digital tv in Thailand.
