ESPN and the Professional Fighters League have agreed to a multi-year deal making the network’s family of channels the primary home for the mixed martial arts circuit. The 2019 season also marks the introduction of advanced analytics to the sport.
ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and the subscription streaming service ESPN+ will carry all 10 PFL events, with up to five hours of exclusive coverage. TSN is now the exclusive carrier in Canada. The PFL is the only MMA league to use a regular season and playoff format.
“The PFL was created to offer the 300 million global MMA fans the sport-season format that other major sports like the NFL and NBA have, which is the transparency and meritocracy of a regular season, playoffs and championship,” said Donn Davis, PFL co-founder and chairman, in a statement. “Fans can now follow the stories, and business partners can engage in the journeys, of the PFL fighters throughout the season. This agreement to bring PFL to ESPN and ESPN+ further validates our unique and innovative product and will accelerate the PFL’s growth.”
SportsMedia Technology (SMT) is unveiling the SmartCage this year that will rely on biometric sensors to provide advanced tracking data. This new set of stats, which the PFL is calling Cagenomics, will include speed of punches and kicks, power ratings, heart rates, and energy exerted. These new metrics are intended both for broadcast and for the fighters’ performance analysis.
“Starting in 2019, PFL fans will begin to see real-time, live, innovative technology that is unique to the PFL in the MMA space,” said Gerard J. Hall, SMT founder and CEO, in a statement. “SMT’s Oasis Platform will provide the PFL with a seamlessly integrated system that combines live scoring with real-time biometric and positional data to enhance the analysis, storytelling and graphic presentation of the PFL’s regular season, playoffs, and championship events next season.”
SportTechie Takeaway
ESPN+, which is already home to a large slate of UFC Fight Night content, has now wrapped up rights to one of the UFC’s competitors. This speaks to the new reality of digital sports coverage whereby networks can carry a comparatively unlimited inventory of coverage.