Stephen Espinoza & Showtime to Run Bellator

"
There are more changes afoot at ViacomCBS as oversight of cable channel Pop TV will shift from the Showtime group to the Entertainment & Youth group of channels headed by Chris McCarthy.

At the same time, Bellator MMA, the ViacomCBS-owned company that produces MMA events and manages a roster of fighters, will be now report into Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza.
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https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/pop-tv-bellator-mma-viacomcbs-1203468564/

 

Cancellation incoming

 

They have to move it off paramount, wrong demographic for cage fighting. Not sure where else they could put it though other than showtime but they still need it on some place other than dazn since no one really has dazn

 

Coker is still the president of Bellator.

 

things could get ugly.

 

thats the worst part of the announcement. Gary Shaw was a better mma promoter compared to scott coker. Gary Shaws retarded son was a better promoter than scott coker.

 

Im sure showtime is going to want the best fights. What happens to dazn? what happens to the euro trash series? and what happens to cokers other can crushing series he was planning around the world?

what happens to coker when his contract is up?

 

@RODNEY83 told u kids Bellasnore was ugly....fake fighting, cans, amature porn stars and Hooters girls along with grandpa fat Dad bods ex UFCers cant get eyeballs!

 

- they could go back to strikeforce style mma, stacked cards on showtime like 6 a year,
- the casino cards are obviously lesser quality, brand them as bellaforce challengers and put them on mtv2 or some other viacom cable channel that has a bigger audience than showtime.
- dazn's contract remains but cant air simultaneously as showtime events, dazn will get the tournament events to make them happy
- european series deals with uk/europe remains. grow european market so bellaforce is the dominant mma brand in europe/uk.
- focus on interactive technology, daily fantasy type contests with prizes, live update stats and odds on fights live, minute by minute, live behind the scenes videos from the fighters, give out prizes , create fan attachment to brand
- add story-telling type shows/features on fighters on different channels and crossover fighters onto other viacom reality shows, create fan attachment to fighters
- live events should be treated as comic con type atmospheres, 2 days events, work with local gyms, sponsors, brands to set up booths during day of weigh ins, carnival booths where fans can crush cans for prizes, make fun of yourself, fans can meet fighters similar to their meet and greets they sometimes do but on a bigger scale
- do better in scheduling events ahead of time and booking fighters

 

Isn't he the "Weasel" from one of the Conor/Mayweather press conferences?

I hope he brings some changes to Bellator, but I doubt it.

 

https://www.mmafighting.com/2020/1/...orts-to-showtime-sports-prez-stephen-espinoza

CBS Sports in their future ? Showtime ? And Dazn ?

 

Probably Showtime. They still air old Strikeforce cards at prime hours 2-3 times a week so I’ve always thought they were looking to get fresh MMA content back on Showtime.

 

Paramount is terrible place for MMA shows to prodcast, hopefully this will bring some new life to Bellator. Time to let there top prospects they been building become the faces of promotion, people aren't interested in seeing 40yr olds headline.

 

Nothing, I mean nothing will help Bellator unless they get rid of Management and the OLD broken paycheck fighters they pay huge money to not perform (aka Rampage, Mir,Country etc) and the stupid Can matches Coker loves so much! Mathmakers need to do serious work on cards and not just spend 5 min on a card....

Serious Boxing guys should be added from showetime boxing and showbox! Fire the Matchmakers who run Bellator now..they have no eye for talent or match ups

 

You are smart.

 

i never thought i would say this but at this point i hope Coker and management gets replaced asap. Never has my interest in Bellator been as low as it is now.

I am tired seeing bad matchmaking, can crushing contests, old veterans who should have retired long ago being there only for name value and a paycheck and so on. Bellator has a decent roster and the tournament format is still fun so with some work Bellator could still be a viable alternative for us mma fans.

 

Espinoza is in fact Conor's "weasel". I expect there will be significant changes coming; keeping the status quo would appear to be a financial loser (I know, DANZ money, blah, blah, blah...that ain't gonna last, and there are probably performance clauses built into the contract for renegotiation based on performance. That would not be uncommon.)

 

If this means going to Showtime then I think this is a good move.

 

Waiting for @RODNEY83 to put the pieces together to let us know what this means! Far be it for MMA sites like Sherdog or MMAjunkie to do real reporting on MMA!

 

So true. As a hipster, I want to prefer Bellator over UFC. But UFC is 100X better. Watching Bellator leaves me feeling dirty.

i'm sorry I missed Strikeforce in its glory