Country | Canada |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Canada (National) United States Portugal (NOS/Vodafone Portugal) Belgium (Telenet) Angola (ZAP) Mozambique (ZAP) Turkey (Tivibu) Middle East/North Africa (OSN) Bosnia/Serbia/Montenegro (RTV Pink) Italy Africa |
Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
Ownership | |
Owner | Anthem Sports & Entertainment |
Sister channels | GameTV Game+ Pursuit Channel AXS TV HDNet Movies |
History | |
Launched | September 22, 2005 |
Links | |
Website | Fight Network |
Fight Network is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment. The network broadcasts programming related to combat sports, including mixed martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, and professional wrestling.
The channel was originally conceived in Canada, when it was granted approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on January 30, 2004. The channel, tentatively known as "TFN – The Fight Network", was described as "a national, English-language Category 2 specialty television service devoted to programming related to the arts, skills and science of combatants." [1]
The channel launched as The Fight Network, commonly abbreviated as TFN, was created and founded by Mike R. Garrow, on September 22, 2005, initially on Rogers Cable in Ontario and New Brunswick. [2] Prior to the network's launch, Fight Network also acquired wrestling radio show Live Audio Wrestling , syndicating it under the banner Fight Network Radio. [3]
BlackOut Communications originally owned The Fight Network, but after several organizational restructurings, Fight Media Inc. assumed ownership.
In December 2010, former Canwest CEO Leonard Asper made a "significant investment" in Fight Network, marking his return to the media industry after the bankruptcy and wind-down of Canwest. Asper stated that it was "an exciting opportunity — not without its challenges, but also of course one with significant potential." [4] The following April, to coincide with UFC 129 in Toronto, the network re-branded as simply Fight Network, with a new logo and an associated marketing campaign to promote the network's expanded lineup. [5] A high-definition feed launched in March 2013 initially on Rogers Cable. [6]
On December 22, 2014, Fight Network announced that it had sub-licensed portions of the UFC's new Canadian rights agreement with Bell Media and TSN, including coverage of non-PPV preliminaries, international UFC Fight Night events, as well as other UFC archive programming, and the possibility of collaborating on other ancillary programs with TSN. [7] [8]
In March 2015, Fight Network acquired Canadian rights to TNA Wrestling programming, including Impact Wrestling , TNA Xplosion , and TNA's Wrestling Greatest Matches. [9] [ third-party source needed ] In June 2015, Fight Network announced a broadcasting agreement with the World Series of Fighting, covering Canada and other EMEA markets. [10] In March 2016, TNA expanded its relationship with Fight Network to offer its programming internationally through Fight Network's streaming platforms. [11] [12]
In January 2017, Fight Network's parent company, Anthem Sports & Entertainment, acquired a majority stake in TNA. Under Anthem, the promotion was renamed "Impact Wrestling" after its flagship program. [13] Following the acquisition, Fight Network began cutting its studio programming; in March 2017, long-time Fight Network personalities Robin Black and John Ramdeen were laid off by Anthem. Further layoffs occurred in October 2017, including the entire staff of Live Audio Wrestling (which the network claimed was on a "hiatus"). Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer reported that these cutbacks stemmed from the TNA buyout, citing that Anthem intended to use the promotion to bolster its programming, especially in international markets, but that the promotion's financial troubles had required Anthem to make cuts to Fight Network. [14] [15] [16]
In December 2018, Bell Media renewed its rights to the UFC, but dropped the sublicensing deal with Fight Network, making all programming exclusive to TSN. [17]
Fight Network's first international agreement was with American IPTV provider Backspace. Fight Network launched on their system in the United States in 2007; [18] however, after several months, Backspace removed the channel from its systems.
In keeping with its plans to expand internationally, Fight Network opened an office in Ecuador to continue its planned global expansion in that region. [19] However, the network never commenced operations in South America. In 2008, FN purchased UK-based TWC Fight! subsequently renamed the network "The Fight Network UK". [20] The network was shut down on December 1, 2008.
In November 2012, Fight Network expanded into the U.S. market and launched a subscription service for live online streaming of the channel on NeuLion. [21]
In July 2015, Fight Network launched on Suddenlink Communications across the United States [22]
In July 2018, Fight Network returned to the UK on the Showcase TV service on Sky and Freesat. [23]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(May 2020) |
This section needs to be updated.(January 2024) |
Fight Network produces several weekly news shows, including:
Other international MMA promotions aired on FN include M-1 Challenge from Russia and the Netherlands, Ultimate Challenge MMA from the U.K. [34] Extreme Fighting Championship Africa, [35] Super Fight League from India, [36]
Other North American MMA promotions aired on FN include the Canadian MMA promotion SLAMM: Tristar Fights, [37] Battlefield Fight League, Hard Knocks Fighting Championship, Aggression Fighting Championship and Rumble in the Cage.
Fight Network's live boxing programming includes:
Other boxing programming broadcast on FN:
FN's "From The Vault" archive includes fights from Showtime Championship Boxing, ShoBox: The New Generation, Solo Boxeo Tecate, Warriors Boxing, United Promotions, KZ Event Productions, Ballroom Boxing, 12 Round Promotions and Legends of the Ring.
FN's "From The Vault" archive includes matches from Impact Wrestling, Dragon Gate USA, Pro Wrestling Noah and Best of Memphis and St. Louis Wrestling.
On May 23, 2013, Fight Network launched three weekly talk shows on SiriusXM's Canada Talks. [57]
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a retired American mixed martial artist and a former politician. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000, to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars. Ortiz ultimately became the biggest pay-per-view draw of 2006 for his fights with Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Ken Shamrock.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. The first documented use of the term mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993.
Bryan Alvarez is an American independent professional wrestler, martial artist, satellite radio host, podcaster, and journalist. Alvarez is the editor and publisher of Figure Four Weekly, a fan run, online newsletter that has covered professional wrestling since 1995.
Matt Hume is an American former professional mixed martial artist, trainer, and businessman. He is the co-founder and head trainer at AMC Pankration in Kirkland, WA. Hume and his AMC team have trained several champions and world-class fighters including Josh Barnett, Demetrious Johnson, Bibiano Fernandes, Tim Boetsch, Jeff Monson, Bob Sapp, Chris Leben, Hayato Sakurai, Akira Shoji, Matt Brown, Rich Franklin, and Caros Fodor. Hume has been the Senior Vice President of Competition for Singapore-based combat sports promotion ONE Championship since 2012.
Marcus Paul Davis, is an American professional mixed martial artist and former professional boxer who is perhaps best known for competing in the UFC. A professional MMA competitor from 2003 until 2014, Davis also competed for Bellator MMA, the MFC, the Cage Fury Fighting Championships, and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2.
Mauro Domenico Ranallo is a Canadian sports announcer, commentator and mental health advocate. He is currently signed as a play-by-play announcer with MMA organization Bellator, and also performs play-by-play duties for boxing broadcaster Showtime. He is also known for his time with WWE on the NXT and SmackDown brands. He has experience in Canadian football, ice hockey, professional wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts events.
Live Audio Wrestling was a Canadian sports radio talk show hosted by "The Mouth" Dan Lovranski and Jason Agnew. The program primarily covered news and events surrounding professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. First premiering in May 1997 as an internet radio show, The LAW later shifted to conventional radio on several stations in the Toronto area, and moved to CHUM in 2011, where it remained until its cancellation on October 30, 2017.
Timothy Edward Lee Hague was a Canadian mixed martial artist and boxer who competed in the heavyweight division, most recently for Absolute Championship Berkut. He became a professional fighter in 2006, and formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, World Series of Fighting and King of the Cage, where he went 11–0 and was the King of the Cage Canada Heavyweight Champion. On June 16, 2017, he suffered a brain hemorrhage after being knocked out in a boxing match against Adam Braidwood in Edmonton, Alberta. He died on June 18, 2017.
Thomas Joseph Lawlor is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and podcast host. He is currently appearing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the inaugural and longest reigning NJPW Strong Openweight Champion and Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a former one-time MLW World Heavyweight Champion and the winner of the first-ever Battle Riot in 2018 and the 2020 Opera Cup tournament.
Reza Madadi (Persian: رضا مددی, is a retired Iranian-Swedish mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division. A professional mixed martial artist from 2006 to 2019, Madadi is best known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currently owned by the Canadian-based Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merger in 2016.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) has developed in Australia from a wide cross-section of sporting and martial arts disciplines to become the most popular combat sport in these country.
Niklas Bäckström is a Swedish mixed martial arts fighter who competes in the Lightweight and Featherweight divisions. He has previously competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Anthem Sports & Entertainment is a Canadian multinational media company based in Toronto, Ontario and founded by Leonard Asper.
Hard Knocks Fighting is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion in North America. Hard Knocks Fighting was founded in 2009 by Canadian Olympic wrestler Ari Taub. Hard Knocks Fighting is known for its local fighter support and ongoing charity efforts and where Ronda Rousey secured her second career MMA victory.
CES MMA is a mixed martial arts promotional firm based out of Providence, Rhode Island founded by boxing promoter Jimmy Burchfield Sr. It promoted the first sanctioned professional mixed martial event in the state of Rhode Island on September 17, 2010, at Twin River Casino.
Fight Network was a British programming block that broadcast nightly over the channel space of Showcase by Information TV. The channel was owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment and available through Showcase by Information TV at 9:00 PM every night. Programming featured combat sports from around the world. The channel launched on 17 July 2018 and was based on the Canadian channel of the same name. The channel itself was a revival of the previous version of The Fight Network, which formally broadcast under the name of TWC Fight! and The Wrestling Channel before ceasing transmissions in 2008. However, the channel ceased operations on Showcase in September 2020.
Triller TV is a Bulgarian-based American digital video streaming service owned by Triller, Inc.