ONE Championship has announced two major TV deals. Events will broadcast by Sky Sports in the UK and by beINSports in the Middle East.
The broadcast deal with Sky Sports commences in 2024 and will see the British broadcaster screen all of the Saturday morning events (Friday night in the US). The first event to be shown will be ONE Fight Night 18 on January 14th.
The ONE Championship bantamweight kickboxing and Muay Thai titles are currently the property of England’s Jonathan Haggerty. There are numerous British fighters on the roster with Jacob Smith winning last weekend and Liam Harrison making his long awaited comeback next month.
Harrison’s Muay Thai match with John Lineker will be on the ONE Fight Night 18 card. ONE Championship founder Chatri Sityodtong is excited to be bringing this fight live to UK households.
“For years, our UK fans have been clamoring for ONE to be broadcast on one of the region’s major networks. Today, I’m excited to announce a new partnership with Sky Sports, the premier broadcaster for live sports in the UK and one of the most well-known sports networks in the world. This deal marks an important milestone for the celebration of martial arts and the continued expansion of ONE Championship’s global footprint.”
Sky Sports is known as the home of the English Premier League but also has the rights to Formula One, the Cricket World Cup, the NBA and the NFL. Chatri has talked about the possibility of holding a ONE Championship card in London and securing a major broadcast deal in the UK is a step towards this.
Sky Sports and ONE Championship have today announced an exclusive partnership to air ONE events in the UK and Ireland 🙌
ONE is the world's largest martial arts organization, showcasing fights in a range of martial arts including MMA, Muay Thai, Kickboxing and more 👊
The… pic.twitter.com/Cgn42j8csh
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) December 12, 2023
Middle East
While there is no suggestion that a London event is imminent ONE Championship already has cards booked in multiple countries in 2024. Dates have been confirmed for shows in Bangkok, Singapore, Tokyo and Qatar.
ONE 166 is set for Qatar on March 1st. The event will be broadcast in the Middle East region on beIN Sports, it isn’t clear whether this is part of a long term deal or just a one off.
The Saturday cards are currently broadcast live on Prime Video in North America. They take place on Saturday mornings in Asia in order to accommodate the Friday night viewing audience in the US and Canada.
