Spike UK flexes IMG’s muscles

Lithuanian strongman competitor Žydrūnas Savickas

Spike in the UK has ordered two documentaries from sports and media management group IMG featuring some of the world’s strongest men.

The first film, Strongmen: Pain & Glory, explores the lifestyle of the planet’s most powerful humans and will air on the Viacom-owned channel later this month.

The second doc, WSM: The Champion’s Story, goes behind the scenes of the 2016 World’s Strongest Man event in Botswana. It will air on January 1 next year.

Among those to feature are Hafthor Björnsson, star of US drama series Game of Thrones, and Eddie Hall, the current world record holder for the heaviest deadlift (500kg). The event is broadcast on Spike’s sibling UK network Channel 5.

“The World’s Strongest Man is a huge franchise on Channel 5 with over a million people tuning in each year to watch the competition. Spike wanted to offer some texture with this new original programming showing what it actually takes to become one of the strongest men on the planet – the pain, the sacrifice and the glory,” said Kris Graham, channel manager at Spike UK.