Strikeforce Inks Separate Deals With ProElite, Showtime
MMA promoter Strikeforce has acquired several fighter contracts and a library of events from ProElite, which ran the now-defunct EliteXC. In a separate deal, Strikeforce inked a multi-year agreement with Showtime for the network to produce and televise up to 16 live events per year and a series that will highlight up-and-coming MMA fighters. Strikeforce's initial championship event on Showtime is scheduled for April 11 at the HP Pavilion (THE DAILY). YAHOO SPORTS’ Dave Meltzer wrote the deal to acquire fighters from EliteXC makes Strikeforce the “leading competitor to the industry leading” UFC. Strikeforce co-Owner Scott Coker said that he “did not purchase the contracts for all of the estimated 80 fighters under EliteXC deals, but that all the key names came with the deal,” including Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano. Coker said that Strikeforce will “remain a private company owned by himself" and Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment, which also operates the HP Pavilion and the Sharks (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/5).
BACK ON NETWORK TV: SHERDOG.com’s Loretta Hunt reported the Showtime deal "opens the door for four primetime specials on CBS, which owns the Showtime channels and had much success with MMA [through] EliteXC in a Saturday night primetime slot." CBS Senior VP/Program Operations Kelly Kahl “would not comment on any potential timetable to springboard MMA back onto the major network, though it is widely believed that CBS’s interest in the sport remains steadfast.” CBS execs "were said to have been gun-shy [about] inking a new deal with another MMA outlet.” But the “burgeoning relationship with Showtime and Scott Coker … is being viewed as the first step in bringing [MMA] back to the masses” (SHERDOG.com, 2/5).
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