Spain’s Ono agrees fight deal

Spanish pay TV operator Ono has agreed a carriage deal with an international sports channel that it claims will become the country’s first network dedicated to boxing and martial arts.

Fight Sports is operated by CSI Sports and provides coverage of live boxing and martial arts, as well as original programming such as Discovery Network’s documentary Xtreme Martial Arts.

The 24-hour HD network launched in December 2012 and has already agreed carriage deals in 24 territories across Europe and the Asia Pacific region.

CSI was launched in 1997 and also syndicates its weekly Fight Sports programming to regional sports networks in the US, where it is claimed to reach more than 70 million households.

Ono was recently acquired by global media giant Vodafone for €7.2bn (US$10bn), paving the way for the firm to bolster its European TV and broadband offerings.