CHICAGO (October 20, 2009) — Bellator Fighting Championships will broadcast its second and third seasons on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo through a unique and landscape-altering alliance. Bellator’s first-of-its-kind, tournament-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion will be available nationwide for 24 weeks in 2010 to 112 million homes through NBC, 82 million homes through FOX Sports Net (FSN) and its regional sports network affiliates, as well as to 62 million homes through Telemundo.
The historic agreement, which was announced today by Bellator CEO/Founder Bjorn Rebney and executives from FOX Sports Net and NBC, is among the largest in MMA history and promises to introduce Bellator, and the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., to millions of new fans.
“Since our launch earlier this year, there has been an overwhelming demand from MMA fans nationwide for us to broadcast our events live and through a widely available platform,” Rebney said. “We are thrilled to have signed this groundbreaking agreement with FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo, which will bring our unique and exciting brand of tournament-based MMA events to a dramatically expanded audience of both English- and Spanish-speaking fans.”
Under this new multi-tiered alliance, Bellator events will be distributed live in primetime on Thursday nights beginning April 8, 2010 on FSN and its regional sports network affiliates. The top moments from each week’s live events will then be condensed into an action-packed 30-minute highlight show, broadcast every successive Saturday night in the all night daypart on NBC, and a one-hour highlight show will air in Spanish on Telemundo every Saturday night from midnight to 1 a.m. Each of the three broadcasts will be aired in high definition.
“We’re thrilled to bring Bellator’s brand of MMA to our viewers. We believe the quality of the events and the passion of these fighters will resonate with our audience,” said David Sussin, Vice President of Programming, FOX Sports Net.
“Mixed martial arts has established its position by becoming one of the fastest-growing sports. Bellator and its real sport tournament format has proven it can deliver some of the finest and most intense action on broadcast television,” said Jerry Petry, Executive Vice President, NBC Universal Television.
Bellator Season 2 premieres Thursday, April 8, 2010, and runs for 12 successive weeks. Season 3 kicks off Thursday, August 12, 2010, and also runs for 12 successive weeks. Each season follows Bellator’s electrifying tournament format, where fighters in each of Bellator’s weight divisions determine their own destiny to become Champion or No. 1 Challenger. Event venues, sponsors, featured fighters and other details on Seasons 2 and 3 will be announced over the coming months.
Bellator first burst onto the MMA scene in April 2009 and with its groundbreaking single-elimination tournament format quickly established itself as one of the sport’s most exciting promotions, crowning champions in four weight divisions.
From day one, Bellator developed a tremendous following among Spanish-speaking MMA fans—a following that stands to grow dramatically through Bellator’s new alliance with Telemundo, the second-largest Spanish-language network in the U.S.
Bellator (Latin for “warrior”) is the only nationally televised professional MMA promotion in the United States that gives fighters the ability to control their own destiny. At Bellator, in each weight class, top fighters from around the world compete to determine who is crowned Champion and who becomes No. 1 Challenger. Bellator, where fighters become warriors and warriors become legends. Network negotiations were coordinated by Carr-Hughes Productions, KC Productions of Saratoga Springs, NY and Alpaytac Marketing Communications/Public Relations of Chicago, IL .
For more information, please visit Bellator.com.
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.
About FOX Sports Net (FSN)
FSN is the nation’s leading provider of local sports. FSN’s 16 owned-and-operated regional networks and its affiliated networks reach more than 82 million homes across the U.S. FSN serves as the TV home to nearly two-thirds of all MLB, NHL and NBA teams based in the United States. FSN also produces close to 5,000 live local events each year, including more than 1,600 in high definition. In addition to its thousands of home team games and a wide variety of locally produced sports programs, FSN televises national sports events and programs, including Pac-10 and ACC basketball and Pac-10 and Big 12 football.
About NBC
The NBC Television Network’s strength derives from combining NBC’s strong national identity and programming with the local identity and programming of its affiliates in communities across America. The sale of advertising time enables the NBC Television Network to provide programming to the public free of charge. The NBC Television Network broadcasts approximately 5,000 hours of TV programming each year, transmitting to more than 200 affiliated stations across the United States. These independently owned affiliates then broadcast the NBC signal to an estimated 99 percent of all homes in the United States with television sets.
With Bellator leaving ESPN, does this clear the way for an ESPN/Disney – Zuffa deal? Also, doesn’t Disney/ESPN have an ownership position in Bellator?
What is the “all night daypart” mean ? Also I think if UFC does go broadcast it will probably be ABC. They have football and own espn.
The KKKFC will never be on network t.v.