UNIVISION ACQUIRES EQUITY STAKE IN COMBATE GLOBAL

Univision has acquired a significant equity stake in Combate Global‘s premier Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise. The terms of the agreement are set to be effective immediately. “Since teaming up in 2018 Univision and Combate Global have created an entirely new audience for MMA. Today, those content-hungry fans, combined with our dynamic athletes, represent the future of the sport," said Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren. "This announcement underscores Univision’s commitment to Hispanic MMA and we could not be more excited to further strengthen our successful partnership with them."

The purpose of the move is to connect Combate Global's involvement with the MMA industry to with Univision's promotional and production opportunities. The transaction follows the declaration of a recent five-year media rights deal that features 30 live television events airing annually – a total of 150 events – many of which will take place live from Univision’s studios in Miami, Florida. “This investment marks the first step in Univision’s broader strategy to deliver more exciting, live combat sports to our audience,” said Juan Carlos Rodriguez, president of Sports Enterprises, Univision.

Combate Global programming began airing live on Univision in 2018, before switching from its original “Combate Americas" name. In an attempt to launch across all Univision platforms, the MMA sports franchise is now programmed on free-to-air, cable TV and digital platforms. “Combat sports rank as the second most popular sport among Hispanics,” Rodriguez, said. “We’re excited to take our successful partnership to the next level as we collaborate with the Combate team to elevate the brand and bring compelling mixed martial arts content across the Univision platforms for years to come.”

The title has accumulated approxiamtely 425,000 viewers, serving as the highest-rated Spanish language program in its time slot. Combate's event last week brought the network an additional 543,000 viewers, marking it the second-largest audience ever for the program and highest since April 2018.