NEW YORK, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- 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. .
