Bellator has signed a landmark broadcast deal in the United Kingdom with national broadcast network BBC.
The deal, which comes hot on the heels of Bellator’s U.S. broadcast deal with Showtime, marks the first time the U.K.’s national public service broadcaster has signed a multi-event broadcast deal with an MMA organization, and will see all of Bellator’s events shown, for free, through the BBC’s iPlayer streaming platform throughout 2021.
The deal follows on from the BBC’s broadcast of Bellator’s Paris event in October 2020, which served as a test run for the network ahead of the newly announced partnership deal.
All Bellator events, including numbered events on Showtime and European Series shows, will be streamed live, with event replays set to be made available on demand following the initial broadcast.
It means U.K.-based fans now will have one home for Bellator content after previously having to channel-surf between subscription broadcaster Sky Sports and free-to-air Channel 5, plus hop online for preliminary-card fights on YouTube, to get their full fix of Bellator action throughout the year.
The first event of the deal will be Bellator 255, which takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Friday, April 2, with the partnership running for the duration of 2021.
“To have every event on the biggest network in the U.K. is a great opportunity for Bellator,” Bellator president Scott Coker stated. “We look forward to working with the BBC to bring our exciting roster of talent and our extensive events schedule to an ever-growing audience.”
The deal represents a major success for Head of Bellator Europe David Green, who established a relationship between broadcaster and promotion in 2020, leading to Bellator’s historic event in Paris being shown live on BBC iPlayer.
With a deal now struck to show all of Bellator’s shows live, Green stated: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to bring live Bellator MMA action to millions of U.K. homes on BBC iPlayer. To have every event from all over the world available for fans in the U.K. to watch live is something we have been working really hard to achieve, and to be able to call the BBC home for Bellator in the U.K. is really a fantastic moment for us and for the sport.”
