From MMAJunkie.com:
NBC and Strikeforce will soon announce a deal that will give the quickly growing mixed-martial-arts organization a weekly presence on major network television.
Sources close to the deal tell MMAjunkie.com that a formal announcement of the partnership is expected within the next week. However, Strikeforce executives didn’t return phone calls from MMAjunkie.com requesting comment.
The NBC-Strikeforce deal comes just weeks after CBS and ProElite, Inc. announced a formal partnership that will put four annual EliteXC events on primetime television. The first EliteXC-CBS event is expected to air in May. And though it won’t be a live event, Strikeforce could actually beat EliteXC to the airwaves.
Ted’s Take: So what if NBC/Strikeforce beats CBS/EliteXC to the airwaves? The bigger issue is Dana White and UFC are still without a TV deal. I know, I know, they are the biggest MMA org. out there and they have the most PPVs and the most successful PPVs. But a TV deal is what they covet, because they know it will push their PPV buys through the roof. It’s been said that the UFC has been hard to deal with in past TV deal negotiations, and right or wrong, those negotiations have gone south. Maybe they need to refine that approach, just a little bit, before someone else snatches up ABC.
