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By Alvin Benjamin Carter III, MMATorch Specialist
In some of my recent articles I have talked about how the UFC and Strikeforce have made major moves to secure viewership outside of the United States. You can now add Bellator Fighting Championships to the list of MMA promotions that have secured international broadcast deals.
On Feb. 12, 2010, Bellator announced that The Score Television Network in Canada will broadcast BFC's second and third seasons, which is a great move considering they have acquired a number of Canadian fighters. One of the most recent and notable acquisitions is former Canadian Wrestling Champion Sean Pierson. I recently interviewed Pierson regarding his signing to Bellator (audio posted at end of this article). He gave some insight on the opportunities his new fight deal might bring, such as new sponsors, and he talked about what it is like to be a part of the fight game for the past decade.
By giving top level fighters a platform to showcase their skills on national television, Bellator is gearing up for what looks like an exciting sophomore season of MMA action. Expanding to Canada is an incredibly smart move considering MMA is extremely popular even though it is still illegal in some parts of the country. Having broadcast deals outside of the United States will create more advertising and sponsorship opportunities, and possibly live events in Montreal or in an area that allows MMA fights. International expansion is always easier when it takes place on the same continent that the company is on. This type of expansion is a major move for a promotion that is only starting its second season. A number of fight promotions in the United States do not have network deals, and some do not formally have fights available on the Internet.
The concept of having fight seasons is a novel idea. Most sports leagues have seasons and bracket based tournaments that create excitement and build anticipation for a final event to crown a champion. The concept of seasons may make Bellator more appealing to an audience that is familiar with MMA. Using the tournament model is not new in MMA as the UFC started with tournaments and Pride Grand Prix tournaments are legendary, but there are currently not a lot of promotions with broadcast deals that have tournament based events. Along with the tournament bouts, Bellator has featured non-tournament fights and women's fights. (Bellator VII featured a fight with Kerry Vera, wife of UFC Light Heavyweight fighter Brandon Vera.)
There are officially three major promotions in the mix, and each one is making relatively similar strategic business moves although on slightly different scales. However, it will be interesting to see how Bellator's and Strikeforce's numbers compare later this year. Viewership is key for both of these companies, and the live gate might be especially important for Bellator. In 2010, the UFC, Strikeforce, and Bellator are going to feature a lot of non-PPV events making MMA more accessible to a wider audience.
Alvin Benjamin Carter III is an MMATorch Specialist columnist focusing on the business and statistic side of the sport of MMA. He trains in SanDa / Shan Shou (Chinese Kickboxing) and MMA. He also has a business background in music production, management, and clothing. He has launched two companies which cater to niche markets, giving him experience in examining trends and attitudes that can affect a particular business model, which he applies in his weekly column for MMATorch to the sport of MMA.
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