The UFC and Russian company Media Telecom have announced the launch of UFC TV, a dedicated channel in Russia and CIS.
The channel will be available via state-owned telco Rostelecom. UFC events will be broadcast on its basic package and its OTT platform Wink. Rostelecom agreed a three-year distribution deal with the UFC and Media Telecom in December, from 2019 to 2021.
UFC’s previous deal in Russia was with the Telesport agency and ran for two years, covering 2017 and 2018. Telesport sublicensed rights to sports broadcaster Match TV.
The promotion has seen a boost in popularity in Russia over the last few years, largely due to the success of Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is currently UFC lightweight champion.
The first event to be broadcast on UFC TV in Russia will be the UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Overeem on April 20 from Saint Petersburg.