MMA Junkie is reporting that the Bellator Fighting Championships will imminently be signing a new television deal with FX Networks to air their live Thursday events.
Bellator Fighting Championships officials are expected to announce a multi-year broadcast deal with FOX Entertainment Group, sources today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.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.
Sources said the deal is in the process of being finalized and soon could be announced.
This is tremendous news for Bellator. FX has a lot of market penetration and they will no longer be subject to the dreaded preemptions that often hurt them while on FSN. This first season on FX is going to be absolutely crucial for Bellator, though. Having a legitimate TV deal means there are no more excuses. The heat is on. If Bellator doesn't perform on FX, the end could be near. This is a big opportunity for everybody involved in Bellator. Time will tell how they perform.
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