German court bans ban on UFC broadcasts

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                                German court bans ban on UFC broadcasts

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                    <p>Back in 2010 the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Commercial Broadcasting (BLM) made the decision to the prohibit the broadcast of the UFC shows &quot;The Ultimate Fighter,&quot; :UFC Unleashed,&quot; and &quot;UFC Fight Night.&quot;</p>

The BLM cited the "unnaceptable massiveness of the violence displayed" and that "standing taboos" like hitting a prone opponent on the ground is in contradiction with the vision of the Bayerische Rundfunk Constitution.

The UFC challenged the ban in court, and - finally - there was a ruling. The Administrative Court in Munich, Germany ruled the current broadcast ban as ‘illegitimate’ and annulled it.

The court ruled on October 9th, 2014 in favor of ZUFFA who filed a lawsuit against the Bavarian State Media Authority (BLM) in 2010 when they declared the ban.

According to the court it can be assumed that UFC® content is generally suitable for broadcast. A violation of general morality or undesirable influence on youth cannot be determined. Rather the court finds the assessment of Mixed Martial Arts as a plausible sport.

The court sees the declared broadcast ban at any rate as disproportional. The BLM does not have legal grounds for banning programming that it only deems undesirable from its own point of view. Eventually, in no sense did the BLM take into consideration the legally protected rights of ZUFFA.  

Until March 2010 viewers in Germany could watch UFC events on TV channel Sport1/DSF but BLM imposed the ban, reversing permission it had previously granted just one year before.

“This verdict is a milestone for the UFC and for the many UFC fans in Germany,' said UFC® Chief Global Brand Officer Garry Cook. "The court has confirmed that it was illegitimate to ban our broadcast programs. We always had confidence in the German market and felt a responsibility to grow the sport and satisfy demand – this is why we fought against this ban. We will continue to work intensively to bring events, content and original programming to German viewers.”

The UFC® returned to Germany in May 2014 to host an event at the O2 World in Berlin, after an absence of five years. The event sold over 8,000 tickets and was watched by over 500,000 in Germany across numerous platforms.  

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The BLM can appeal against this verdict to The Administrative Court.

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German UFC fans are probably pissed off about this, no more cheap PPVs and everything on Fight pass for them now.

UFC just countered and staggered Boxing Promoters.

Cool

Sometimes I feel like the UG headline writer is 16 years old. By sometimes I mean all the time. Phone Post 3.0

b0b0b - Finally..but i miss the good old times when german mma fans like me were able to watch all the live events for free on ufc.tv including the pay-per-views :(
Being an underdeveloped mma country had some benefits
This!
Was a sad day when they stopped the free PPVs for Germany.
For me...it will not change anything...I don't think they will show free live shows you can't watch on Fight Pass.

What is good for Germany...it's like a foot in the door for German MMA events. Phone Post 3.0

more TV revenue is on the way...