Combate Global is headed to CBS Sports and Paramount in a new TV deal that will give the Hispanic-centered MMA promotion a bigger foothold in the U.S. market.
The ViacomCBS platforms will serve as the English broadcasting home for Combate events, starting a fight card scheduled for June 25 that will air on CBS Sports. On July 9, the promotion heads to Paramount+, which will host Combate events for the remainder of the year. The multi-year broadcast deal also includes 30 live events in 2022 and 2023 in addition to preview and recap shows on Paramount+.
“We are thrilled to partner with CBS Sports and bring Combate Global action to the Paramount+ platform,” stated Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren in a press release issued on Tuesday. “Millions of combat sports fans have heard about Combate Global’s fast and furious version of MMA and can now see for themselves. Find out why Combate is ‘Much More Action’ with our world class announcing team calling the action.”
CBS Sports Network will also rebroadcast Combate events make the promotion’s fight library available on-demand on Paramount+.
“The addition of Combate Global’s exciting MMA action is a tremendous opportunity for Paramount+ to further expand its reach to a young and diverse fanbase,” stated CBS Sports Digital exec Jeffrey Gerttula in the release. “We believe Combate events will complement the expansive live soccer programming that is now a cornerstone of our industry-leading sports coverage on the service and deliver even more unique sports content across CBS Sports platforms.”
Univision serves as Combate’s Spanish-language broadcast partner in the U.S.; the network struck a five-year deal to air events in March. The promotion’s events are also broadcast by the Televisa network in Mexico. In signing with Paramount+ and CBS Sports, Combate bolsters the network’s MMA content after the ViacomCBS-owned Bellator moved this past August to premium cable channel Showtime.