Report: Bellator MMA leaving Paramount Network after September

Bellator MMA’s television home has been Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV) since 2013, but that’s reportedly coming to an end after next month. ESPN’s…

By: Mookie Alexander | 3 years ago
Report: Bellator MMA leaving Paramount Network after September
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Bellator MMA’s television home has been Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV) since 2013, but that’s reportedly coming to an end after next month.

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reports that the Viacom owned promotion will leave Paramount after its September 12th event (headlined by Juan Archuleta vs. Patrick Mix for the bantamweight title). As for what’s next, CBS Sports Network beckons.

Ratings for Bellator MMA have noticeably sagged over the past couple of years, particularly since Spike rebranded as Paramount Network, and cable companies such as Comcast took it off basic cable packages. CBS Sports Network does not have too many major live sports contracts outside of UEFA Champions League soccer and lower-level college football games, so viewership is unlikely to shoot back up to what we saw from around 2013-2017. However, CBS Sports Network does have the Bellator MMA: Recharged program, which showcases some of the promotion’s best moments over the years, so it’s only logical to get live fights as well.

By the way, Bellator still has a contract with DAZN but DAZN has noticeably been shedding sports rights around the world and is having a significant problem getting big boxing matches booked with a reduced budget. Helwani also reports that the Bellator-DAZN partnership is uncertain.

If all holds true then you can expect to find Bellator on CBS Sports Network in the immediate future, and perhaps occasionally on CBS and Showtime down the line.

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Mookie Alexander
Mookie Alexander

Mookie is a former Associate Editor for Bloody Elbow, leaving in August 2022 after ten years as a member of the staff. He's still lurking behind the scenes.

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