OSN brings Bellator MMA ‘The Toughest Tournament in Sports’ to the MENA region

Exclusively on OSN Sports HD

Dubai, UAE; February 24, 2014: Bellator MMA will now be available for the first time to the many passionate mixed martial arts fans across the region exclusively on OSN from March 1st, 2014.

Billed at the ‘Toughest Tournament in Sports’, Bellator MMA’s broadcast on OSN underlines the start of a significant multiyear partnership.

Televised to nearly 500 million homes worldwide in over 107 countries, Bellator MMA comprises a single-elimination format that awards the winner of each tournament a guaranteed world title fight against the current Bellator World Champion in the applicable weight class.

“OSN understands and has a passion for MMA and Bellator is growing fast and gaining fans around the globe. We are very excited about this partnership and look forward to growing Bellator in our region,” said OSN’s VP Sports & Production, Andy Warkman. “We have exciting plans for Bellator and MMA fans can look forward to exclusive content, local events and activations coming soon.”

Bellator MMA’s Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney’s philosophy was to create a combat sports business model that mirrored the real sports format followed by every other major sport. In Bellator MMA, fighters control their own destiny through their performance inside the cage and title shots are earned through a knockout tournament.

“OSN is an absolute force in the Middle East and Northern Africa, and as Bellator continues to expand into key regions worldwide, OSN was the ideal partner for our brand in 2014 and beyond,” Bjorn Rebney said. “From Algeria to Yemen, Bellator is now on the premier network for MMA across the MENA region, and we couldn’t be happier.”

Featuring fighters from across the globe including Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and Africa, Bellator showcases the world’s greatest MMA fighters.

OSN will exclusively broadcast 25 live events in 2014 alone as well as bring exclusive content such as fighter features, highlight shows and reality-based programming all available in HD and on-the-go via OSN Play on a variety of devices from laptops, to tablets and mobile devices.

OSN is the ultimate destination for the widest choice of brand new premium Western, Arabic, South Asian (Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Malayalam and Tamil) and Filipino entertainment in the Middle East and Africa.

OSN is the home of nearly 140 channels filled with great value entertainment, offering viewers in the MENA region exclusive access to the latest blockbuster movies, top rated series, sports, documentaries, news, kid’s entertainment and live talk shows. The movie offering includes over a 100 uncut and uninterrupted movie premieres a month so viewers can watch them the way they were meant to be watched.

OSN boasts the most comprehensive portfolio of exclusive rights from all the major studios including Warner Brothers, Paramount, Fox, Disney, Sony, MGM, Universal, HBO and DreamWorks and offers access to the world’s leading television brands including Disney channel, Sky News, Discovery Network and Nat Geo.

Launched in August 2013, OSN Pehla brings the best of Bollywood movies and premium cricket, including exclusive telecast rights of international tournaments such as the ICC Cricket World Cup and Indian cricket, through leading sports channels OSN Sports Cricket HD and Ten Cricket.

As the leader in innovation, OSN has changed the TV viewing experience by bringing quality entertainment through 38 High Definition channels and is currently the only network offering a full HD bouquet of channels as well as 3D entertainment in the region. OSN was the first to launch the DVR, the OSN DVR HD; the regions first online TV platform, OSN Play; the regions first 3D, HD, internet enabled satellite receiver and recorder, OSN Plus HD and the region’s first VOD service, OSN on Demand offering viewers the opportunity to watch over 1000 movies and 52 latest seasons of the top series, all available in full HD quality and Dolby Digital sound.

September 2012 saw the launch of OSN’s rewards programme, OSN Privileges, offering subscribers money can’t buy experiences, special offers and premium prizes all year round.

The OSN platform is owned and operated by Panther Media Group Limited; a company registered in DIFC, and is owned by KIPCO and Mawarid Group Limited.