Oz, Italy win Bellator league

Broadcasters including Network Ten in Australia and Discovery in Italy have secured the rights to air the Bellator Mixed Martial Arts league.

US distributor Electus International has also agreed deals for the sport with RTL9 in France, 15 TV in Spain, SIC in Portugal and Fight Channel in Croatia.

Celestial Tiger Entertainment in Hong Kong, Ananey in Israel and NC+ in Poland have renewed their agreements for the fights, while partnerships are continuing in Latin America (Fox Sports), Brazil (Esporte), Russia (R2), the Middle East (OSN) and New Zealand (Sky Networks).

The growing popularity of Bellator follows the appointment of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker as the league’s president in June last year.

Electus said the deal expands Bellator’s reach to 400 million homes in 120 countries.