Bellator MMA will promote its second-ever PPV event on June 24 at MSG, and the Viacom-owned outfit will "receive a massive marketing push, unlike anything in Bellator history," according to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com. Bellator President Scott Coker said that Viacom has "invested a multimillion-dollar off-channel marketing strategy to be rolled out this month" for promotion's first-ever N.Y. event. Okamoto noted the overall "financial investment will be '20 to 30 times more' than anything Viacom has put into Coker's previous 'tent pole' events." Bellator's current identity is "built around its television platform of Spike TV," which is also owned by Viacom. However, Coker "believes that will evolve to incorporate PPV in the coming years." Coker also has confidence that the history between Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen, who areonthe main card for the June 24 event, "will be enough" to sell the $49.95 broadcast. Coker: "Any (buy rate) in the mid-200,000s would be respectable. And anything in the 300,000s would be considered a big hit. ... This is the best MMA PPV that's been offered in 2017. I'm a fight fan and always buy the big fights; I haven't bought one of them this year." Okamoto noted Bellator's only other PPV in May '14, headlined by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, "reportedly drew 100,000 buys." In addition to the main event, the June 24 event in N.Y. features Fedor Emelianenko's first fight in the U.S. since '11. He is scheduled to fight Matt Mitrione (ESPN.com, 6/7).
