The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the US-based mixed martial arts (MMA) series, has today unveiled a media rights tie-up in Eurasia, the Baltics, and the Philippines with pay-TV broadcaster Setanta Sports.
Through a multi-year tie-up, all PFL and Bellator programming (PFL acquired Bellator late last year) will be covered live by the network in the following territories: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and the Philippines.
The deal covers both live and archive coverage of events from the following competitions: PFL Global, PFL PPV Super Fights, PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and the Bellator Champions Series.
James Frewin, managing director of international for PFL (promoted earlier this month), said: “PFL’s partnership with Setanta Sports marks another milestone in our organization's global expansion, offering the best action in MMA to one of the fastest-growing media markets in the world.”
This week has already seen PFL appoint experienced commercial executive Damian Willoughby as head of global partnerships.
In terms of media rights, meanwhile, PFL announced a deal with Sub-Saharan African pay-TV broadcaster SuperSport in March.
Setanta Sports adds PFL action to its stable of sporting properties to which it holds Eurasian rights - alongside soccer’s English Premier League and UEFA Champions League, motor racing’s Formula 1, and basketball’s NBA.
In February, it expanded and extended its rights agreement with German soccer’s top-tier Bundesliga for the next rights cycle.