The Ultimate Fighter 3(TM) Viewers to Beam Directly Into Live Online Pre-Show Before the Season Finale on Spike TV
New Live "Cam-In" Capability Brings the Ultimate Fighter Stars To The Fans
NEW YORK, June 23 -- Like never before, fans of The
Ultimate Fighter 3 can get into the action with athletes from the hit
series on Spike TV. On Saturday, June 24 at 8:30 pm to 9:00 pm ET/PT, fans
of the show can beam themselves into an online pre-show before the live
season finale along with their favorite Ultimate Fighting Championship(TM)
athletes. SpikeTV.com will be webcasting the live pre-show from the Hard
Rock Hotel and Casino with hosts Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. The
show will preview the night's fights and feature commentary from guests
such as legendary UFC(TM) champion Randy Couture and current UFC Light
Heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell.
A first ever for SpikeTV.com, the live online pre-show will include an
interactive "cam-in" feature. Similar to talk radio "call-in" shows, fans
will be able to log on to the show with their webcams and interact with the
hosts and guests while being featured live onscreen in the webcast. The
innovative feature is all part of Spike's "Get More Action" mantra, using
technology to put viewers into the action, on the show and into a
one-on-one with a popular UFC fighter.
"The Ultimate Fighter viewers are incredibly passionate fans and what
better way to bring them into the action than a live pre-show in which they
can appear and ask questions in the live production," said Kevin Kay,
executive vice president and general manager, Spike TV.
Working with Adobe, Spike developed a Flash-based application that
allows users to sign into an online "green room" where producers can prep
and screen the online guest before inserting them into the live show. In
addition to SpikeTV.com, "The Ultimate Fighter" fans can find the webcast
at the award- winning Comcast.net, the online portal for Comcast High Speed
Internet customers.
After the online pre-show, fans of the television series can tune in to
the season finale which begins broadcast on Spike TV at 9pm ET/PT. After
twelve weeks of elimination bouts, viewers will witness who will become The
Ultimate Fighter in the final set. In the Middleweight Final, Kendall
"Spider" Grove takes on Ed "Short Fuse" Herman, while Michael Bisping and
Josh Haynes will fight in the Light Heavyweight Final; at stake is a
multi-year, six- figure contract with the Ultimate Fighting
Championship(TM).
After twelve original telecasts, TUF 3 is averaging a 1.69 HH rating,
with a 2.19 in M18-49, a 2.89 in M18-34 and an average audience of 2.1
million viewers. Versus last year in the timeslot, TUF 3 is up +202% in HH,
+356% in M18-49, +445% in M18-34 and +215% in average audience.
Spike TV, the first network for men, is available in 90 million homes
and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks, a division of Viacom
International Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA-B).
SOURCE SpikeTV
http://www.spiketv.com/
|