Good news for Bellator Fighting Championship fans as the promotion is expected to announce a new television deal that will see events aired live on the FX network.
MMAjunkie.com broke the news on Friday.
Bellator Fighting Championships officials are expected to announce a multi-year broadcast deal with FOX Entertainment Group, sources today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com.
As part of the deal, future Bellator events are expected to air live on the FX cable station with tape-delayed broadcasts on sister stations FOX Sports Net and Fuel TV.
Bellator aired its first first season on the Spanish-language ESPN Deportes and its two most recent seasons on FSN.
There had been some speculation over the recent months that Bellator was in a bit of trouble as a mixed martial arts promotion but this deal would certainly secure them as a promotion by reaching into millions of home each week on cable television.
The promotion is likely to keep its regular Thursday schedule with the live events being broadcast on FX, while highlights will air on FSN and Fuel.
This is definitely a step forward for Bellator as they’ve had to conform previous events around timeslots, had shows pre-empted, and broadcast by tape delay. This will allow them to keep the interest of fans, as well as attract new ones, by keeping the events live in viewers homes in a world where the results are only a click away.