MMA Junkie reports that Bellator will air its fifth season in HD via premium cable station EPIX. The station is offered through Viacom but is not available with other cable providers.
Via MMA Junkie:
The premium cable station, which is available in approximately 30 million U.S. homes, is Viacom-owned and a joint venture with sister divisions Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and Lionsgate.
The high-definition simulcasts begin Sept. 10 with Bellator 49, which kicks off the organization’s 12-week fifth season.
EPIX, which launched in 2008 and primarily airs films, provides a solution for some TV viewers, though the channel isn’t available through carriers such as DirecTV, Comcast and Cablevision.
Payout Perspective:
This move somewhat addresses the complaint by viewers that Bellator shows only air in standard definition on MTV2. It seems like a minor issue as the quality of fights/fighters should be more important, however if the organization wants to be perceived on par with the UFC getting into HD is vital. The presentation of the show will be important to the casual viewer and it could provide a boost in ratings. The one drawback with the deal is that EPIX is not available with every cable provider so not everyone will be able to see Bellator in HD.
HD is a big deals as far as I’m concerned. Now that I upgraded to a flat screen TV, watching things in standard definition is painful. Part of the action seems to get chopped off and I can see the pixels. I get EPIX through my FIOS subscription so I’m happy with this.
seems like a good move for Bellator to get on another platform and increase their distribution in any way that they can….and to give some fans an opportunity to see their product in HD…
I like the move, although EPIX’s reach is not too great. They have been working very hard to grow and I believe they signed a deal with Netflix last year, so if Bellator could somehow get on NetFlix, it would make this deal that much better.