 |
| (Image Source: ONE Championship/beIN Media Group) |
ONE Championship, the largest and leading mixed martial arts organization in Asia, has began broadcasting its events live across Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for the first time through its multi-year exclusive partnership with beIN Media Group. On the other hand, ONE Championship's highly-anticipated events will also be shown in Brazil starting January 2023 via the organization's exclusive distributor Globo.
Its milestone partnership with ONE marked beIN's first time distributing mixed martial arts content to its audiences, underlining the growth of the sport across the region as well as the growing fanbase and rising demand for ONE’s dynamic content. beIN SPORTS, beIN’s flagship channel, will broadcast ONE’s international events with both Arabic and English commentary across 24 territories in the MENA region via beIN SPORTS PREMIUM 3. The broadcaster will also feature ONE round-up shows across its channels in addition to dedicated social media and digital content throughout the year on beIN SPORTS’ platforms. beIN MENA Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Al-Subaie said, “We are delighted to sign this agreement with ONE, a significant promoter of MMA throughout Asia, and one that has united fans and fighters alike under a powerful martial arts and eSports banner. ONE events are a fantastic addition to our already impressive sports portfolio, and highlights our ongoing commitment to showcasing diverse sports to our subscribers across MENA.”
Group ONE Holdings President Hua Fung Teh added, “This partnership with beIN will be the catalyst for ONE’s content proliferation across the Middle East and North Africa and will allow us to reach and engage live with our passionate fans here through the largest sports broadcaster in the region. beIN is one of the world’s leaders in sports broadcasting and we’re very proud that they’ve chosen to partner with us and showcase our unique products on their platform.” One of the key drivers of the partnership between ONE and beIN MENA is the demographic alignment. The Middle East and North Africa is a region with one of the most attractive demographics globally that is highly Millennial and GenZ (74% under the age of 39), digitally native and well-educated. ONE’s fan demographic mirrors this with 71% of its fans under the age of 44. Martial arts participation and engagement has grown significantly across MENA over the last few years. This announcement is just the latest in a series of partnerships that ONE has signed, including recent agreements with the Qatar Investment Authority and Media City Qatar, as it seeks to become the leader in martial arts and gaming across the region.
 |
| (Image Source: ONE Championship) |
Meanwhile, Combate, Globo’s leading provider of premium combat sports content and pay-per-views in Brazil, will deliver relevant coverage throughout Globo’s free-to-air, digital, and pay TV channels. Globo is the largest media company in Latin America, with a reach of more than 100 million viewers across free-to-air, digital, and pay TV. ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong stated, “This multi-year agreement will give our Brazilian fan base the opportunity to connect with ONE like never before as we present a minimum of 12 primetime events each year. Brazil is one of the most passionate combat sports regions in the world, and with a best-in-class partner like Globo distributing our content, we will be able to reach the widest audience possible in an extremely important market for ONE.” Combate Head Rafael Gruenbaum stated, “The agreement with ONE Championship, which brings incredible live events and a great roster of Brazilian athletes, reinforces Combate’s objective in giving our Brazilian audience the very best of combat sports. We are very pleased with this partnership with ONE. It’s a great step in a path of expanding our portfolio to all martial arts.”
ONE features an extensive roster of Brazilian star athletes including ONE Bantamweight World Champion John Lineker, ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues, former ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes, former ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes, ONE heavyweight contender Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida, and grappling legend Andre Galvao among hundreds of martial artists from over 80 countries representing the full spectrum of martial arts, including MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, submission grappling, and mixed rules bouts and competing in world-class martial arts events that are produced and shown across over 150 countries worldwide via its wide range of broadcast, global distribution and digital partners.
