Bellator MMA is moving from the Paramount Network with Friday’s announcement that their new home will be on the CBS Sports Network beginning next month.
The news of Bellator’s pending change was first reported by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani with Bellator wrapping up on the Paramount Network this weekend with cards on Friday and Saturday night.
There will be several changes including the live broadcasts of all domestic and international cards including the upcoming shows in Milan, Italy, and Paris, France in October.
The promotion also appears to be utilizing more Thursday night events with their first prime-time event occurring on Thursday, October 15th, and another one set for October 29th.
The main cards will air on the CBS Sports Network with the undercards streaming on CBSSports.com and Bellator’s YouTube channel.
Bellator will continue to produce its own events in-house led by Executive Producer Scott Fishman.
Bellator President Scott Coker:
I am thrilled that Bellator live events will be coming to CBS Sports Network beginning on Oct. 1, as well as the unique opportunities the partnership creates across all CBS Sports platforms. CBS Sports is synonymous with iconic sports broadcasting and it is incredible to now have Bellator MMA included in that family. I would like to thank Paramount Network, formerly Spike TV, for the years of support that helped build Bellator into the organization that it is today, and this news marks yet another exciting relationship between two ViacomCBS properties. I look forward to bringing the biggest fights, featuring the top athletes in the world, live to CBS Sports Network and introducing Bellator to an entirely new audience this fall.
The first event on the CBS Sports Network will be Bellator 247 airing live on Thursday, October 1st at 4 pm Eastern from Milan, Italy headlined by Paul Daley vs. Derek Anderson.
Bellator 248 from Paris, France airs on Saturday, October 10th at 11:30 am with Cheick Kongo vs. Tim Johnson and Michael “Venom” Page vs. Ross Houston.
The first live prime-time event will be Bellator 249 on Thursday, October 15th headlined by featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” defending her title against Arlene Blencowe.
On a conference call with the media, they added that Gegard Mousasi will defend the Bellator middleweight title against Douglas Lima on Thursday, October 29th with Lima moving up from welterweight.
Viacom purchased majority ownership in Bellator back in 2011 and began broadcasting their events live on Spike TV in 2013, once their contractual agreement with the UFC expired. Spike TV was re-branded The Paramount Network in 2018.
