Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) became the partner for W.O.W. Promotions, the company Rorion Gracie and Art Davie founded for the first UFC. This partnership produced the first UFC 1 thru UFC 5 and after their purchase of W.O.W. Promotion’s share of their joint venture, SEG went on to produce UFC events until they sold the franchise to Zuffa in 2001.
The key individual at SEG was CEO Bob Meyrowitz. “Meyro” had produced award-winning specials for cable TV and was an established producer of TV and radio content.
The Vice-President of Original Programming was Campbell McLaren. A super creative executive, he was educated at Berkeley and MIT and had been a factor in the creation of the Catch a Rising Star comedy clubs. He was the first to see the value of the UFC; and was heavily responsible for the on-air talent for the UFC, including Bruce Beck, Jeff Blatnick and Joe Rogan.
The Vice-President of Sales at SEG, pitching Pay-Per-View projects to the cable companies, was Michael Abramson. He was also responsible for selling SEG’s King Biscuit Flower Hour, a radio syndication to stations. A powerhouse sales pro, Mike was actually the one who came up with the name “The Ultimate Fighting Championship.”
The Vice-President of production at SEG was Michael Pillot, an experienced producer of TV content. He was responsible moving the Octagon production forward when he added Rorion Gracie and Art Davie’s working ideas to his needs for TV production; and hired set designers, Greg Harrison and Jason Cusson to design the cage. Pillot was the show’s line producer responsible for the 6-camera setup & graphic design at the first UFC and subsequent events.
Semaphore Entertainment Group had been a pioneer in Pay-Per-View television with music and comedy concerts and sporting events like Jimmy Conners vs. Martina Navratilova. The UFC became their first “franchise.” Bob Meyrowitz was also an established force in radio syndication with the King Biscuit Flower Hour, a rock music package employed by radio stations across North America.