The MMA Report reveals that its sources have discovered that NBC Sports Network reached out to Bellator MMA about the possibility of airing its preliminary fights on the network. However, a deal could not be reached which means the prelim cards will remain online at Spike.com.
Via The MMA Report:
The NBCSN ended up offering a multi-year deal to Bellator MMA that would pay the California based mixed martial arts organization a rights fee in the millions for the ability to broadcast the Bellator MMA preliminary cards.
However, according to the report, the two sides could not come to an agreement which would have had Bellator air its prelim fights for the upcoming 10th season on NBC Sports Network.
The MMA Report also indicates that the WSOF has stated that its deal with NBCSN is no longer a time buy but NBCSN pays a rights fee to the WSOF. But, this was refuted by sources of The MMA Report stating that NBCSN does not pay a rights licensing fee. The WSOF has yet to comment on this but intends to do so “in the next two weeks.”
Payout Perspective:
The news presents an interesting potential shakeup between the two organizations. WSOF has issued a challenge to Bellator to an interpromotional card which the latter has not responded to at this time. There’s no word on what Spike TV thought about this potential move by Bellator. Recently, NBCSN upped its number of households the network is available to as it can be seen in 85 million homes starting in February. Spike TV is in approximately 98.7 million homes. The move into more homes could be attractive for Bellator as it may want to expand its brand. It would seem that airing prelims would not be an enormous move, but it can be seen as moving in on WSOF’s territory. Plus, it could have led to confusion of brands. What does this mean for WSOF and programming on NBCSN?
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