Bellator has secured a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to air all upcoming Bellator Champion Series events on the Max streaming service, starting with the Belfast card on March 22.
Bellator’s got a new crib. Yup, you heard it right. The PFL-owned promotion has inked a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. What’s the deal about? Well, all the upcoming Bellator Champion Series events will be aired on the Max streaming service. And it all starts with the Belfast card on Friday, March 22.
But wait, there’s more. All eight Bellator cards will be live on Max in 2024. And there’s also shoulder programming on other Warner Bros. Discovery networks. You’ll find a bunch of content on TNT Sports on truTV. But the broadcast details? Well, they’ll be announced later.
Now, let’s talk about the Belfast card. It’s set to kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on Max. The main event? A light heavyweight title fight. Corey Anderson and Karl Moore will be squaring off. They’re fighting for the 205-pound champion title after Vadim Nemkov vacated the belt to move to heavyweight.
Peter Murray, PFL CEO, had something to say about this. He said, “Following our historic acquisition of Bellator, Professional Fighters League is proud to partner with Warner Bros. Discovery for the highly anticipated Bellator Champions Series to stream exclusively on Max for fans across the United States, at no extra cost to subscribers, when the global franchise launches on March 22.”
He’s excited for audiences to tune into Bellator’s new home on Max for eight Bellator Champions Series events in 2024. These events will be taking place in iconic cities around the globe, featuring world title fights and the biggest stars in combat sports.
He added, “There’s an incredible demand for premium, year-round MMA content from major media platforms and this is the latest milestone in PFL’s ambition to bring the sport’s best to audiences around the world.”
Before this new broadcast deal, Bellator was primarily aired on Showtime. That was when the promotion was still owned by Paramount. PFL bought the promotion at the end of 2023. They announced plans to keep Bellator going as a separate entity with eight global events planned in 2024.
Here’s the full lineup for Bellator events in 2024 with all cards now airing live on Max:
Friday, March 22, 1pm E.T. – Bellator Champions Series Belfast – The SSE Arena, Belfast
Friday, May 17 – Bellator Champions Series Paris – Accor Arena
Saturday, June 22 – Bellator Champions Series Dublin – 3Arena
Saturday, September 7 – Bellator Champions Series San Diego – Pechanga Arena
Saturday, September 14 – Bellator Champions Series London – OVO Wembley
Saturday, October 12 – Bellator Champions Series Chicago – Wintrust Arena
Saturday, November 16 – Bellator Champions Series Paris – ADIDAS Arena
Tuesday, December 31 – Bellator Champions Series – TBD
Max will also carry a back catalog of Bellator events. Subscribers will have access to over 300 events and 3,000 plus fights in the history of the promotion.
The new deal for Bellator to land on Max comes after the PFL secured a separate broadcast rights agreement with ESPN. The promotion continues to air throughout the year. PFL kicks off its 2024 season in April with those events airing on various ESPN networks, including streaming through ESPN+.
Later this year, Warner Bros. Discovery will actually partner with ESPN and FOX on a new sports streaming service. This service will combine assets from all three networks under one umbrella. Users can pay a fee to watch sports exclusively available from those outlets.