Troubled promotion BAMMA finally have some good news to share as they’ve just clinched a significant new TV deal in the UK.
They announced today that BAMMA 10 on September 15th will broadcast live on the 5* channel, while highlights of the show will then be shown on terrestrial TV via Channel 5.
Since it’s inception BAMMA have struggled to find the right home for their events in the UK, originally airing on Bravo before it shut down, before moving to SyFy UK. That station never seemed like a good fit for the promotion and so it came to an end after just a few shows which lead to BAMMA 9 not being broadcast live, instead being shown a week later on the Extreme Sports Channel.
The new deal is certainly the best they’ve achieved so far. 5* is a solid home for the live events, nestling alongside mainstream shows like ‘The Mentalist’, ‘Chuck’ and ‘Big Brother’, while putting their highlights package on Channel 5 has already proven to be a successful move as BAMMA 8 drew 500,000 viewers when it aired on the station.
It’s welcome news for BAMMA who’ve had a tough twelve months with events being delayed and cancelled, while their marquee signing Nate Marquardt left earlier in the year without ever having fought for them after becoming unhappy with the length of time it was taking to put on his debut fight.
“We are thrilled to clinch this game-changing deal with 5; and based on our recent viewing figures feel certain that the partnership will be a great success,” BAMMA’s director, David Green said in a press release. “We are proud to be leading MMA into the UK mainstream under a British banner and welcome the opportunity that Channel 5 brings to further establish the sport of Mixed Martial Arts in this country.”
So far no fights have been announced for the September card.
