Bellator MMA will return to ESPN Deportes per company announcement earlier this week. The agreement is a “multi-year, multi-platform agreement” which starts with Bellator’s next tent pole event this Saturday, “Bellator MMA: Dynamite 1”
Via Bellator:
ESPN will be streaming preliminary matches in Spanish starting at 7 p.m. on ESPN3 and ESPNDeportes+. As part of the deal, archival fights will also be made available to ESPN Deportes.
“ESPN Deportes has a long history of carrying premier sporting events, relevant to our Hispanic sports fans,” said Lino Garcia, general manager of ESPN Deportes. “We recognized the changes and growth of Bellator over the past year and, we are thrilled to see the world-class mixed martial arts organization return to its original television home.”
Bellator President Scott Coker: “We are thrilled to deepen our connection with our growing Hispanic audience with this strategic partnership with ESPN Deportes.”
Payout Perspective:b
It’s a return to ESPN Deportes for Bellator as the network previously aired Bellator fights. The deal is in line with expanding the MMA audience to the growing Hispanic demo. We recently highlighted Combate Americas and its deal with NBC Universo. For Bellator, it places it in front of a growing demo and allows it to solicit sponsors which relate to the Hispanic audience.
Bellator airs on Fox Sports in Hispanic America, so there won’t be any Hispanic crossover (unlike NFL, MLB and NBA on ESPN).