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Feb 2, 2010 - 3:47:33 PM

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Strikeforce has made another stride towards moving their former southern California-centric promotion to a worldwide brand in MMA, as the organization, along with Shine International, have announced the sale of more than 70 hours of programming to markets in Europe, Australia and Latin America.

Six networks have purchased the programming, which features the 30 highlight shows that originally aired on NBC, as well as 56 hours of footage from Showtime and live broadcasting of forthcoming events through February of 2012. Those networks are "Virgin Media Television's Bravo in the U.K., Turner in Latin America, FX in Portugal, Ukraine's Megasport, Seven Network Australia, and Dahlia TV in Italy."

Said Chris Grant, president of Shine International, "Strikeforce is the leader in mixed-martial-arts content as proven by the huge demand for their programming around the world. They have the world's best fighters, the world's best events, and they know how to translate that into fast-paced programming that captures what will soon be the most popular sport in the world."

Link to MMAJunkie.com report

Penick's Analysis: This is a big step for Strikeforce and will allow them a more global presence for their brand, but Grant's comments are quite laughable. It's one thing to be confident in your organization and to tout yourself as highly as you can, but to spit out straight untruths as "Strikeforce is the leader in mixed-martial-arts content" or that they have the "world's best events" is something entirely different. They've put on some great fights, they've put on some very solid events, but they're nowhere near being the leader or the best in any category in the sport. No, they've got a long way to go to earn that distinction. This is a great move for them, and will certainly increase their viewership overall, but this is not the "leader" getting a further reach worldwide.

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