Russia 2, the free-to-air channel operated by Russian state-owned broadcaster VGTRK, has acquired rights for the Bellator Fighting Championships mixed martial arts series.
The length of the agreement, which was brokered by content distributor FremantleMedia Enterprises, was not disclosed, but the deal will begin on September 28.
“Over the last year, as the Bellator brand has experienced enormous growth and our talent team has signed the greatest Russian mixed martial artists in the world, the timing was perfect to align Bellator with Russia’s leading sports network,” Bellator chairman and chief executive Bjorn Rebney said.
Russia 2 executive producer Grigory Kovbasyuk added: “We lead the way in Russian sports broadcasts with the Olympic Games, world and European championships, Formula One and many other top sports. We are very excited to have partnered with Bellator to bring mixed martial arts’ most exciting competition to more than 83 million Russian sports fans.”