Bellator on Spike!

[EmpireWF]

No doubt the rating is what's most important with the influence it will have on ad revenue moving forward and could sour the Fox relationship real fast (I don't see how it's that bad though....I'm expecting record # stuff from Cain/JDS/title).

[Warner2BruceTD]

FOX is paying $100m p/y, ratings need to deliver, and they need to deliver every time out.

[Liquidrob]

check this out

http://www.spike.com/full-episodes/e0ov4r/mma-video-bellator-fighting-championships-fall-preview-season-5-ep-501

[Liquidrob]

Bellator Fighting Championships' move from MTV2 to the higher-profile Spike TV is a foregone conclusion. The only question is if it's next year or the year after.

Viacom, which owns both MTV2 and Spike TV, certainly could facilitate a move.

"Everyone wants Bellator to come to Spike TV," one source in the company said. "We're all in this together ... But it all comes down to the UFC library."

While Spike TV no longer will air live UFC events after this year, its existing contract allows it to air the UFC library in 2012. However, as long as Spike TV has the rights to the content, it can't air programming from other organizations until 2013.

However, the UFC could purchase and reclaim the library if it can reach a deal with Spike TV.

"I don't think FOX truly understands what having the library means," one Viacom source said. "That means we could put (old seasons of) 'TUF' against (new seasons of) 'TUF.' We could be airing fights, replays of fights, all kinds of stuff when they're airing live fights."

So is eliminating the threat of counter-programming worth a scenario in which Bellator could move to the higher-profile Spike TV in 2012?

"That's the billion-dollar question," the source said. "And it's answered by people richer than you and I."

[Liquidrob]

An interesting thought, I always figured Spike has the library of Spike/UFC stuff they have run, but I wonder if Spike had Bellator or anyone and could use the name 'The Ultimate Fighter' if they decided to do another TV show?

The name is the name, just throw on Bellator guys and promote the Bellator name, but keep with the Ultimate Fighter franchise

[Kuzzy Powers]

Id be shocked if Zuffa didnt own the rights to the name "The Ultimate Fighter".

[Warner2BruceTD]

Zuffa really dropped the ball on the rights to the tapes, but at the time they were in no position to haggle over it I guess.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Bjorn is bald, so is Smith, they can go out there and say "do you want to be a fuckin fighter?" And half the people wouldnt know any better.

[Liquidrob]

Unlike Showtime/CBS, Spike is in deep with MMA and knows it brings money, only thing they really have, they need to get cracking on more qualtiy MMA

Bellator actually will only work on something like Spike with there tournament format and week after week of shows, they should also think about moving it to Friday, would be awesome to have months in a row, tournament style of every Friday

[Warner2BruceTD]

Friday is a bad tv night, especially for the spike demo. So is sat though, really. But Sat is more known as the "mma night".

They will probably put it on after TNA, and try to replicate the RAW lead in factor. Problem is, TNA draws a few million less than WWE was doing. Eddie Alvarez is on TNA this week, the cross promoting is already ramping up.

[Liquidrob]

Is TNA on a Saturday night?

[Kuzzy Powers]

Thursday night.. but following TNA is disastrous IMO.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Is TNA on a Saturday night?

Thursday.

They should put it on after TNA. TNA does about 1.5m per week. Spike should send Kurt Angle to the first Bellator, good crossover guy, TNA can push the shit out of it for an hour, and hopefully you retain half or more of the viewers. Bellator has abuilt in base of almost 200k to begin with. So you are close to 1 million already, and maybe a big marketing blitz helps out. Even people leaving the tv on not watching is likely more on Spike than the total viewers who watch every week on MTV2.

[Warner2BruceTD]

One step further, you push that Angle has a big announcement on Bellator, everyone will think he is fighting, but its a tease and it ends up wrestling related. That would hold viewers for sure.

[Liquidrob]

Thursday is ok, I think it hurts there ticket sales though (which suck no matter what), but I doubt they would care as much if Spike hooks them up with more money