Fight Sports, the channel owned by combat sports production and distribution company CSI Sports, has announced a long-term agreement to air live events from Japanese kickboxing promotion K-1 globally.
The rights deal comes on the back of CSI Sports signing an initial partnership with M-1 Sports Media, the organizer of K-1, last year to collaborate on the global expansion of the promotion. That deal saw CSI Sport become K-1’s streaming and broadcast partner.
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The new agreement will see Fight Sports broadcast K-1’s live events globally, including major markets Japan, France, the Nordic and Baltic territories, Spain, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, and the Philippines, and others.
Fight Sports offers live action, feature content, and shoulder programming from sports including mixed martial arts (MMA), boxing, kickboxing, judo, sumo, and karate.
Coverage starts with K-1’s next live event in July, which will feature a main event for K-1’s Heavyweight World Championship.
Richard Miele, co-chief executive of CSI Sports, said: “We are excited to add K-1 to our offering of premium combat sports content on Fight Sports.
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By GlobalData“K-1 remains the most high-profile kickboxing league worldwide for decades and has produced some of the biggest stars in the sport. We are happy to be bringing this content to our audience around the world.”
The announcement comes a week after CSI Sports expanded its distribution tie-up in the US with FanDuel Sports Network (FDSN).
In total, CSI Sports claims that the Fight Sports network now reaches over 70 million households in the US and that its coverage now extends across 90% of the top 50 Designated Market Areas in that country.
Last year, CSI also expanded the distribution of its syndicated network in the US through a partnership with Gray Television, a US local TV broadcaster.
Fight Sports claims the deal extends its distribution by over six million households, strengthening its presence in markets including Georgia, Connecticut, and Nevada.
