HONG KONG (February 26, 2015) – Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE), operator of the largest bouquet of pan-Asian channels dedicated to Asian entertainment, announced today the renewal of a multi-year licensing deal to Bellator MMA Fighting Championships (Bellator MMA) with Electus. Bellator MMA will continue to air first and exclusively on KIX, CTE’s action entertainment channel, across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. The events will air during the channel’s “MMA Mondays” time-block at 10pm (HKG/SG/MAL/PHIL) / 9pm (JKT/BKK) within the same week as the live U.S. broadcasts.
“We are excited to continue our partnership with Bellator MMA. As the pay TV ‘Home of Combat’ in Asia, we promise our viewers world-class combat sport events, and Bellator MMA fulfills that promise with some of the biggest and most exciting matches in the mixed martial arts world today. Now with Scott Coker at the helm and a new format for the events unveiled, we look forward to continue building the franchise and fans here in Asia with Bellator MMA,” said Betty Tsui, Vice President, Programming – KIX and Thrill, Celestial Tiger Entertainment.
Founded in 2008, Bellator MMA has become one of the world’s largest MMA promotions, airing in over 120 countries and reaching over 400 million homes on a weekly basis. Bellator MMA’s last event in 2014 broke ratings records during its live broadcast and became the highest-rated Bellator MMA event in history. Bellator MMA features many of the world’s best fighters including: Tito Ortiz, Stephan Bonnar, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, Michael Chandler, Joe Warren, Douglas Lima, and Pat Curran, among others. Bellator MMA is owned by Viacom.
KIX will be airing the next Bellator MMA event “Bellator 134: The British Invasion” on Monday, March 2nd at 10pm (HKG/SG/MAL/PHIL)/ 9pm (JKT/BKK). The event will take place at Mohegan Sun Arena in the U.S. on Friday, February 27th, and feature showdowns between the UK’s best fighters and fighters from around the world. Highlighted bouts at this event include Emanuel Newton vs Liam McGeary; Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs Cheick Kongo; and Andre Santos vs Paul Daley.
In addition to Bellator MMA, KIX showcases a variety of first-class combat sport events from around the world including: World Series of Fighting (WSOF), the fastest-growing MMA promotion in the world, Glory World Series (GWS), the premier international kickboxing league; BAMMA, the No. 1 MMA event in the UK; M-1, featuring battles between Europe’s top MMA clubs; Enfusion Live, the kickboxing event starring a new generation of fighters; and Road FC, one of Asia’s biggest MMA promotions.
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Media Contact:
Pauline Poon
Celestial Tiger Entertainment
T: 852 2239 6131
E: pauline.poon@celestialtiger.com
About Celestial Tiger Entertainment
CELESTIAL TIGER ENTERTAINMENT (CTE) is a diversified media company dedicated to entertaining audiences in Asia and beyond. The company focuses on the operation of branded pay television channels, content creation and content distribution targeted at Asian consumers.
CTE operates a powerful bouquet of distinct pay television channels including: CELESTIAL MOVIES, the premier 24-hour first-run Chinese movie service in Asia and beyond; CELESTIAL CLASSIC MOVIES, the gateway to an unparalleled array of Chinese movie masterpieces; cHK, a one-stop channel for cool, chic, and contemporary celebrity-powered Hong Kong entertainment; KIX, the ultimate destination for action entertainment; and THRILL, Asia’s only regional horror and suspense movie channel.
As one of Asia’s largest vertically integrated independent entertainment companies, CTE produces original content which complements its channels business. CTE is also the exclusive sales agent for Hollywood studio Lionsgate in Greater China and Southeast Asia, and represents Lionsgate’s television content and vast feature film library in Japan and Korea as well.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, CTE’s majority shareholders are Saban Capital Group, a leading private investment firm specializing in the media, entertainment and communications industries; Celestial Pictures, a major Asian entertainment company wholly-owned by Astro Overseas Limited; and Lionsgate, the world’s largest independent filmed entertainment studio.
For more information, please visit www.celestialtiger.com.