Cage Warriors reaches broadcast deal with Premier Sports and Setanta Sports

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship will continue to expand its reach in 2013 with a pair of broadcast deals.

The England-based promotion has reached broadcast deals with Setanta Sports in Ireland and Premier Sports in the United Kingdom that will see Cage Warriors events airing on both platforms. Cage Warriors officials on Wednesday confirmed the news to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

The deals will last for the rest of 2013, and promotion officials said all parties will be looking toward extending the deal into the future. Both Premier and Setanta are available on the Sky platform.

Cage Warriors main cards will air live on Premier Sports in the U.K. In Ireland, Setanta Sports subscribers will see main cards with a one-hour delay due to soccer programming in that country. Cage Warriors main cards also stream live at MMAjunkie.com with replays of the event the following Monday. Those live streams will be geo-blocked in the U.K. and Ireland, though those restrictions will be lifted for the Monday replays.

In addition, Cage Warriors officials said both Premier and Setanta will have access to the promotion’s archives and plan to broadcast past events.

“Cage Warriors Fighting Championship is the leading and most consistent MMA product in Europe, so I’m pleased that we’ll be back on TV screens in the U.K. and Ireland again,” Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan said. “We have a high-quality product and networks should have to meet our valuation of that product if they wish to broadcast it. Premier Sports and Setanta Sports are committed to the growth of MMA in this part of the world, so I’m glad that they’ve decided to do so.

“With the exception of the UFC, Cage Warriors hosts more international events than any other promotion, making us one of the busiest in the world. More than half of the best fighters in the U.K. and Ireland are also signed to Cage Warriors, so with the backing of Premier Sports and Setanta Sports we can continue to progress.”

After Cage Warriors 55 earlier this month in Dublin, the promotion returns next month for Cage Warriors 56 on July 6 in London. Cage Warriors 57 takes place July 20 in Liverpool, England, and the company makes its first trip to Chechnya for Cage Warriors 58 on Aug. 24.

For more on Cage Warriors’ upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Graham Boylan)