Bellator strikes deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to air events on Max starting with Belfast card
Bellator has a new broadcast home.
The PFL-owned promotion has secured a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Discovery for all upcoming Bellator Champion Series events to air on the Max streaming service starting with the Belfast card on Friday, March 22. All eight Bellator cards will air live on Max in 2024 with shoulder programming also available on other Warner Bros. Discovery networks, including a slate of content airing through TNT Sports on truTV with broadcast details to be announced at a later date.
The Bellator card from Belfast is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on Max. The show will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight as Corey Anderson battles Karl Moore to crown a new 205-pound champion after Vadim Nemkov vacated the belt to move to heavyweight.
“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,” PFL CEO Peter Murray said in a press release. “We’re excited for audiences to tune into Bellator’s new home on Max for eight Bellator Champions Series events in 2024 taking place in iconic cities around the globe, featuring world title fights and the biggest stars in combat sports.
“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.”
Prior to this new broadcast deal, Bellator primarily aired on Showtime while the promotion was still owned by Paramount. PFL purchased the promotion at the end of 2023 and 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 available to subscribers from 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 where 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 that will combine assets from all three networks under one umbrella where users can pay a fee to watch sports exclusively available from those outlets.