Maximum Fighting Championships has signed a one year deal with Canadian sports network, TSN according to the Edmonton Sun. The article reports that TSN approached MFC owner Mark Pavelich as the network wanted an MMA property for its network.
TSN (The Sports Network) is Canada’s leading English language sports tv channel. It appears that MFC programming will be shown on TSN2. The network is owned by Bell Media (80%) and ESPN (20%).
Via the Edmonton Sun:
“It’ll help corporate sponsorship, it’ll help fighter sponsorship and it’ll help in every direction possible,” said (Mark) Pavelich. “They’ll make more money because I’ll make more money. Now, if you’re fighting in the Maximum Fighting Championship, you’re not just on HDNet in Canada, the US and Mexico, you’re on TSN2 and that’ll spread even more.”
Payout Perspective:
A good deal for the MFC to get its chance in front of a broader audience. As Pavelich points out, it will help garner sponsorships for the MFC and its fighters. It also shows the popularity of MMA is growing as TSN sought out an MMA property for its programming. It will be interesting to know from our Canadian readers about the accessibility of TSN2. Is it carried by most of the cable providers in Canada (it looks like it is) and if so, is it a channel on a higher tier for which you’d have to pay a premium to receive?
I think TSN2 it is in fewer homes than TSN, but it has made significant strides in carriage since the government regulatory body ruled that it could broadcast for 24 hours a day rather than 12. The Payout article forgets to mention that this isn’t a live fights deal but a “rebroadcast” deal. TSN2 broadcasts a lot of tape delayed Boxing (under the World World of Sports label, old Friday Night Fights, and months old HBO boxing); I figure this is the MMA equivalent. I’m not really sure something like that is going to garner that much of an uptick in sponsorship or brand awareness.
It’s not available on basic cable or satellite, but it comes with a basic “digital cable” package when you get a set-top box with Rogers Cable (which is comparable to Time Warner stateside).
It’s a pretty good deal. Rogers has the UFC locked down here. All of our UFC content airs on one channel – Rogers Sportsnet.
This will offer a lot more exposure for the MFC as TSN is our #1 Sports network. Especially because they get a lot of hockey games, meaning they can steer eyeballs in MFC’s direction.
The channel comes with a regular TSN subscription, which usually comes with any sports package or available for a minor fee (something like 3$, iirc).
This is great for me, as I don’t have access to HDNet.
Is the plan to show live fights tape delays/reruns?
Jason: TSN2 is available on most cable and satellite systems in Canada.
It’s nice to see MFC move over to TSN2, with HDNet being dropped by Rogers (Canada’s largest cable company) on Nov. 1st my MMA programming is already taking a huge hit.