my.nwi.com

By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

Shine International, a sales and distribution branch of the Shine Group, will take Strikeforce’s mixed martial arts brand to new international levels, the companies announced Tuesday.

The deal will have Shine selling more than 70 hours of Strikeforce programming in six different markets in Europe, Australia and Latin America. The Bravo network in the United Kingdom, Turner in Latin America, FX in Portugal, Megasport in the Ukraine, Seven Network in Australia and Dahlia TV in Italy all have purchased the Strikeforce programming library for their channels.

“Strikeforce is the leader in mixed martial arts content as proven by the huge demand for their programming around the world,” Chris Grant, Shine International President, said in a release Tuesday. “They have the world’s best fighters, the world’s best events and they know how to translate that into fast-paced programming that captures what will soon be the most popular sport in the world.”

The programming library purchased in the deal will include 30 episodes and 56 hours of fights that have aired already on NBC and Showtime, according to Strikeforce. The deal also includes live fights scheduled through February 2012 as well as Strikeforce’s Challengers series.