International Fight League strikes Television Deal with AFN
Story Highlights
The
International Fight League, Alfred Haber Distribution (AHDI) and Fox Sports Net
announced that the American Forces Network will begin airing “IFL Fight Night”
beginning in July on a weekly basis.
“We are
very pleased that servicemen and women around the globe will now be able to see
our world class coaches and athletes on a regular basis,” said Gareb Shamus,
IFL co-founder and CEO. “This TV deal, along with our recent partnership with
the USO, reaches a key fan base for the sport, and we are looking forward to
continuing to grow our relationship with the military in every way we can.”
“The
American Forces Network is tremendously excited to have the opportunity to work
with the International Fight League, “said Jeff White, executive director
of the
Defense
Media
Center.”Mixed
martial arts programming has tremendous appeal to our military audience serving
overseas. And IFL is particularly appealing in that it’s a team-oriented sport
that reflects the international flavor of our uniformed services. Many in our
audience are seasoned veterans in several of these specific fighting styles,
including wrestling, karate, Taekwondo, kickboxing, judo and jiu-jitsu. We’re
grateful to the IFL and Alfred Haber Distribution. The fact that Mr. Shamus and
Mr. Haber have allowed the American Forces Network to distribute the IFL is yet
another example of
America’s
commitment to, and support of, our military men and women overseas.”
The deal
with AFN is the latest in a series of partnerships between the IFL and the
military. Earlier this month the IFL launched an awareness partnership with the
USO, with the two organizations working together on a series of goodwill and
multimedia projects year-round. Currently IFL coaches and world champions Pat
Miletich and Don Frye, along with reigning world champion Dan Henderson are on
a Goodwill Tour of the
Persian Gulf. IFL
coaches and athletes also recently entertained over 3,000 servicemen and women
as part of “Fleet Week 2007,” and have held clinics with servicemen and women
in
Chicago,
Everett,
Washington, and
New London,
Connecticut.
The
coverage on AFN will be in addition to the IFL’s United States deals with “IFL
Battleground” on MyNetwork TV (Mondays at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific/7 p.m.
Central) and “Fight Night” (Fridays at 11 p.m. on FSN). IFL programming will
also be seen starting in July on CanWest Global in
Canada,
who will distribute the shows on their Global X-Treme Sports Channel and MBC,
the leading free-to-air Pan-Arab news and entertainment channel in the Middle
East and parts of
Africa. The next IFL event
will be held Thursday, August 2, at Continental Airlines Arena in East
Rutherford, N.J., the IFL’s championship semi-finals.