Last week, Bellator announced back-to-back shows on September 11 and 12th. According to Ariel Helwani, the 12th will be the last on the Paramount Network as the promotion will head to CBS Sports network.
As Helwani noted, Bellator has been a mainstay on the Spike/Paramount network since January 2013. It will be leaving to air on CBS Sports Network where some of its prior telecasts have popped up in recent weeks.
Most believe that the move to CBS Sports Network will eventually move to a CBS/Showtime relationship.
CBS Sports Network has 61 million pay TV households in the U.S. as of its last count in May 2015. The Paramount Network has 80.24 million in the U.S. as of September 2018.
Payout Perspective:
The move should help Bellator as its stay on the Paramount Network has seen its ratings decrease. The network has shifted its focus and Bellator would do much better on a network where there are other sports and can be promoted in a more suitable manner. While its DAZN agreement has helped, Bellator is eyeing a future with CBS and a possible move to air tentpole events on the network could be in its future. But first, we will see how it does on CBS Sports Network which is in less households than network but could do better ratings due to its sports focus.
Leave a Reply