CHICAGO, Ill. (July 14, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships will expand its reach to the more than 1 million brave American service men and women, as well as Department of Defense and other US government civilians and their families stationed overseas through a new alliance with the American Forces Network.
Beginning this fall, all military personnel, Department of Defense civilian employees and their families stationed in 175 countries and territories overseas from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe — and aboard 140 U.S. Navy ships at sea — will be able to watch all of Bellator Seasons 2 and 3 in their entirety via satellite broadcast.
The 24 Bellator broadcasts will air for 24 consecutive weeks every Monday night at 9 p.m. “viewer time overseas” with Bellator Season 2 running from Sept. 6th to Nov. 22 and Bellator Season 3 running from Nov. 29th to Feb. 14th.
Rights to air the broadcasts are being provided to the American Forces Network by Bellator free of charge.
“Bellator means warrior, and the finest warriors in the world today are the brave American men and women who put their lives on the line every day to defend and protect our way of life -- they are the true heroes.” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “It is an honor for Bellator to partner with the American Forces Network and to be granted the opportunity to provide our broadcasts for the enjoyment of these true warrior heroes.”
The American Forces Network Broadcast Center distributes more than 210,000 hours annually of radio and television programming to its well-deserving audience via an encrypted satellite signal that accommodates nine separate television services and 11 radio services.
According to Jeff White, the AFN Broadcast Center Executive Director, Bellator’s addition to the line up is a feather in the cap for AFN Sports programming.
“Given the popularity of mixed martial arts with our young warfighters, we're very pleased to welcome Bellator Fighting Championships to the AFN sports line up,” White said. “Thanks to the support of the Bellator team, every week AFN viewers stationed around the world will be able to enjoy the action and excitement of some of the best fighters, pound for pound, in MMA.”
The alliance between Bellator and the American Forces Network was developed with the assistance of Engine Entertainment, the international TV production and distribution company.
“We are delighted to add the Bellator Fighting Championship to our AFN schedule,” said Corey Slutsky, Sports Director at the American Forces Network. “AFN provides a touch of home to U.S. military service members and their families deployed around the world, and we salute Bellator and Engine Entertainment for their support of the troops.”
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Bellator. For tickets, go to Ticketmaster.com.
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