Univision, the dominant Spanish-language US broadcaster, has acquired a "significant" equity stake in Combate Global, the Hispanic-focused mixed martial arts series previously known as Combate Americas.
The purchase, Univision has said, “formally aligns Combate Global's world-class talent and deep connection to the MMA community with Univision's promotional and production capabilities, positioning the fight organisation for international expansion.”
Financial terms for the deal, which was announced yesterday, have not been disclosed.
The deal follows Combate and Univision renewing their Spanish-language media rights agreement in the US, in a five-year extension struck in April.
Univision has been showing the series since 2018, and the extension means Combate action will continue to be made available across Univision platforms, including linear television channels Univision and TUDN, the TUDN Radio Network, TUDN.TV and the TUDN app.
Fans will also be able to access archive content on Prendre TV, Univision’s new ad-supported streaming service offering free premium Spanish-language content.
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By GlobalDataJuan Carlos Rodriguez, Univision’s president of sport enterprises, has said: “We’re excited to take our successful partnership to the next level as we collaborate with the Combate team to elevate the brand and bring compelling mixed martial arts content across the Univision platforms.”
Campbell McLaren, Combate Global’s chief executive, added: “This announcement underscores Univision’s commitment to Hispanic MMA and we could not be more excited to further strengthen our successful partnership with them.”
Combate Global rebranded from Combate Americas earlier this year, as the series sought to broaden its appeal worldwide, and add fighters from outside USA and Latin America.
So far in 2021, Combate events have averaged 425,000 viewers in the US on Univision.
Last month, the series struck an English-language rights deal with CBS Sports, an arm of the US national network, until 2023.
The deal also includes coverage on Paramount+, the streaming service launched by ViacomCBS in March this year, with the platforms to offer remaining events in 2021 and 30 events annually in both 2022 and 2023.
Events will be streamed live from a set in Miami, and produced by Combate's own production arm, with an additional one-hour weekly highlights show on the linear CBS Sports Network, and preview and highlights shows Paramount+.