SINGAPORE: Fox Sports Asia has agreed a one-year exclusive multimedia and broadcast rights agreement for the second season of Super Fight League, the mixed martial arts promotion fronted by British businessman and sports enthusiast Bill Dosanjh and British professional boxer Amir Khan, on their television and digital platforms in Asia.
Promising reach in more than 500 million homes by broadcasting action pack content, licensed territories include Brunei, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Fox deal follows on from last month’s broadcasting deal SFL struck with MTV, Viacom 18 in India to broadcast all matches for season 2 (till 2019).
This year, the franchise-based league, being organized in association with the All-India Martial Arts Association (AIMMAA), will see 96 players representing eight teams fighting it out for a share of Rs 4 million prize money.
Bill Dosanjh, CEO & founder of Super Fight League stated: “We are excited to be partnering with FOX Networks Group, the leading multi-platform entertainment group across the world. This association will further capitalize on our long term vision of taking SFL to different markets. In the next 3 years we would like to take SFL to the Asian markets where MMA is more popular than a sport like cricket and comes second after soccer. The opportunity to have our premier content available in over 500 million homes will immediately accelerate the growth of the SFL brand and the sport of MMA across the region. The emergence of young Indian mixed martial artists coupled with FOX’s marketing muscle and distribution, will allow us to expand our event output beyond India and into the rest of the world in the coming years.”
Brian Sullivan, president of FOX Networks Group, added: “This new agreement allows us to continue adding value to our uniquely holistic entertainment experience, aiming to suit all our fans’ preferences. We are quite delighted to deliver first class MMA content through our channels and digital platforms. The passion of Asian fans for mixed martial arts makes this category key to our content offering, and we will contribute with our know-how to make the experience of living it in our portfolio unbeatable.”
Elaborating two-time world champion and SFL co-founder Amir Khan states, “I think we’ll be considered mainstream just like the NFL and NBA now. To be on the Fox platform, we’re not second class anymore. This new agreement represents a great opportunity and will allow us to attract a new fanbase for the sport where MMA has a strongly established tradition as well as huge potential to gather and galvanize new fans.”
The second season of the MMA league will be conducted at MTV SFL Arena, Famous Studios, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai from February 9 to March 17.
