World
Leader in Fighting Action Figure Toys JAKKS
Pacific® Secures Ultimate Master Toy
License For Ultimate Fighting Championship®
JAKKS Strengthens Action
Figure Portfolio of Major ‘Fight’
Brands with UFC® License
Malibu, CA – June 10, 2008 –
The world leader in fighting action figure
toys, JAKKS
Pacific, Inc. (Nasdaq: JAKK), announced
today that it has signed an exclusive, four
year worldwide Master Toy license agreement
with the Ultimate
Fighting Championship® (UFC®)
organization, with a planned product launch
expected to commence in 2009.
The new UFC product line
from JAKKSTM will be collector-focused,
and the license covers UFC legend Chuck
"The Iceman" Liddell, Brock Lesnar,
Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira,
Michael "The Count" Bisping and
UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The
Spider" Silva, among others. The license
also includes the famed UFC Octagon™,
and role-play items based on the UFC brand
and its classic and current roster of star
fighters.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship
organization is the world's leading professional
mixed martial arts group, regulated by the
most prestigious sports regulatory bodies
in the United States. UFC live pay-per-view
events take place at preeminent destinations
including MGM Grand®, MEN Arena, Mandalay
Bay® and O2 Arena, and they consistently
draw sell-out crowds with record-breaking
gates. Presenting more than twelve pay-per-view
events per year, the UFC stands as the largest
pay-per-view content provider in the country.
The UFC also dominates
television with its reality series, The
Ultimate Fighter®, now heading into
its eighth season. The Ultimate Fighter
has reigned supreme for years in the coveted
18-34 male ratings demographic, and it regularly
enjoys higher ratings than traditional franchise
sports such as the NBA®, NHL® and
NASCAR®, as well as NCAA® football
and basketball. In partnership with Spike
TV® cable network, the UFC also presents
ten live UFC® Fight Night™ events
and 26 taped programs of the popular program
UFC® Unleashed™.
“The UFC is a perfect
match for JAKKS, given our extensive expertise
in developing and marketing collector driven
sports action figures,” said Stephen
Berman, President and COO, JAKKS Pacific.
“UFC’s enormous and growing
popularity amongst adults, coupled with
the extensive roster of physically powerful
star fighters, gives JAKKS a substantial
base to work with, and should be a powerhouse
combination for the line. Our objective
is to give collectors an authentic UFC experience.”
“Nobody celebrates
a collector brand better than JAKKS™,”
said Jeremy Padawer, Vice President Marketing,
JAKKS’ Boys Entertainment Brands.
“We will develop a very broad, totally
authentic, playable line of action figures,
Octagon sets and accessory items encompassing
current and classic UFC fighters. Our objective
is to give the collector the UFC experience:
All the various fighters, including champions
and contenders, as well as referees, announcers
and even the UFC President! JAKKS will deliver
the definitive line of UFC action figures
-- We are PSYCHED.”
“We are thrilled
to have JAKKS on board as our first official
UFC action figure partner,” said Dana
White, UFC President. “The demand
for UFC is tremendous, and through this
relationship with JAKKS, we can present
authentic UFC products and have them available
to our loyal UFC fans all around the world.”
About
the Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the
world’s leading professional mixed
martial arts organization and offers the
premier series of MMA sports events. Owned
and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered
in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC produces over twelve
live pay-per-view events annually that are
distributed residentially through North
American cable and satellite providers including
iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV®, DISH Network®,
TVN® Entertainment, Shaw Pay-Per-View,
Bell ExpressVU®, Viewers Choice, SaskTel
Max™ and via the Internet worldwide
on Yahoo!® Sports, and commercially
through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S.
and Canadastar in Canada. In addition to
its North American distribution, UFC programming
is distributed in over 100 countries and
territories throughout the world. For more
information, or current UFC fight news,
visit ufc.com
or uk.ufc.com
or ufcespanol.com.
Ultimate Fighting Championship®,
Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate
Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As
It Gets®, Zuffa™, The Octagon™
and the eight-sided competition mat and
cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks,
trade dress or service marks owned exclusively
by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other
jurisdictions. All other marks referenced
herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC
or other respective owners.
About
JAKKS Pacific, Inc.
JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) is a
multi-brand company that designs and markets
a broad range of toys and consumer products.
The product categories include: Action Figures,
Art Activity Kits, Stationery, Writing Instruments,
Performance Kites, Water Toys, Sports Activity
Toys, Vehicles, Infant/Pre-School, Plush,
Construction Toys, Electronics, Dolls, Dress-Up,
Role Play, and Pet Toys and Accessories.
The products are sold under various brand
names including JAKKS Pacific®, Play
Along®, Flying Colors®, Creative
Designs International™, Road Champs®,
Child Guidance®, Pentech®, Trendmasters®,
Toymax®, Funnoodle®, Go Fly a Kite®,
Color Workshop®, JAKKS Pets™ and
Plug It In & Play TV Games™. JAKKS
and THQ Inc. participate in a joint venture
that has worldwide rights to publish and
market World Wrestling Entertainment video
games. For further information, visit www.jakks.com.
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