The European arm of mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion Professional Fighters League (PFL) has agreed a deal with French broadcast group Altice to air its 2023 playoffs in the country.
Taking place on September 30, the 2023 PFL Europe Playoffs will be showcased on Altice Group’s pay-tv operator RMC.
The event’s first two hours will be shown on RMC Sport’s Twitch channel between 6.30pm and 8.30pm CET. The following two hours, between 8.30pm and 10.30pm will be shown on the TV channel RMC Sport, and the final hour, including the co-main and main events, will be on RMC’s primary channel, RMC Découverte.
The playoffs are the penultimate event in the PFL Europe season, preceding the PFL Europe finals to be hosted in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on December 8.
The playoffs will be headlined by an all-French welterweight bout between Cedric Doumbe and Jordan Zebo.
Semi-final bouts for the PFL’s Light Heavyweight, Female Flyweight, Bantamweight, and Lightweight divisions will also take place on the card.
James Frewin, senior vice president at the PFL said: “We are delighted to announce we will be making the final hour of the 2023 PFL Europe Playoffs in Paris available Live on RMC Decouverte from 10.30pm.”
Frewin continued: “The PFL is the fastest-growing sports league in the world and we are committed to providing our French fans more events and access than ever.”
The PFL first partnered with RMC in 2021, which marked the first time a PFL event had been showcased on linear TV in France.
It came after France lifted a ban on the staging and broadcasting of MMA events in 2020.
The PFL and RMC subsequently continued their partnership from 2022 onwards. At the time, PFL’s chief executive Peter Murray declared RMC “the home of MMA in France,” and stated the PFL’s intention to continue the relationship.
The playoffs will also be broadcast live on streaming service DAZN, which is a founding partner of PFL Europe. The PFL announced Paris’ Zenith Paris La Villette as the host location of the playoffs in January.
The PFL Europe 2023 playoffs and finals will be the first since the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia’s sports-focused investment vehicle purchased a minority stake in the promotion.
