FuboTV, the live sports streaming service, has acquired a minority stake in US-based boxing promotion Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), with the platform expanding its coverage of the competition.
The investment builds on the pair’s partnership, which includes FuboTV airing BKFC events via Fubo Sports, Fubo’s FAST channel, and pay-per-view. The expanded agreement will see FuboTV stream a selection of BKFC’s live events, including its flagship BKFC 57 on February 2.
FuboTV will additionally showcase BKFC original programming including BKFC Prospect Series, while the companies will develop a reality series called BKFC: What’s Your Why?
FuboTV said BKFC’s live fights are consistently among the top 10 most watched programming on Fubo Sports.
David Gandler, Fubo’s co-founder and chief executive will join the BKFC’s board of directors as part of the deal.
Gandler said: “Fubo is committed to bringing consumers an aggregated content experience that includes the widest choice of live sports programming. The singularity of bare-knuckle fighting has already made BKFC an important strategic partner for our Fubo Sports linear channel.
“BKFC was our best-performing MMA property in 2023, and we have been very impressed with its continued viewership and engagement growth on Fubo Sports. With this investment, Fubo is committed to the future of BKFC and working with David Feldman and his team to scale the sport.”
BKFC founder and president David Feldman added: “The investment by Fubo is not only a milestone for BKFC because it signifies and validates our continuing growth and evolution, but also will increase viewership and distribution exponentially through Fubo’s extended reach.”
BKFC, founded in 2018, was the first promotion to hold an official state-sanctioned and commissioned bare-knuckle boxing event in the US since 1889.
The competition was then acquired by technology platform Triller in February 2022 as part of plans to expand its boxing entertainment promotion Triller Fight Club.
That deal came after Triller acquired combat sports-focused streaming platform Fite TV in 2021, which has now been rebranded to TrillerTV as it moves away from combat sports.
Last year, TrillerTV acquired the rights to show live events from BKFC, which it shows via its subscription service and pay-per-view section.
Protocol Sports Marketing, the Canada-based international rights and marketing agency, is the BKFC’s exclusive media rights distributor as part of a multi-year deal struck in June 2022.
