Word: mma
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Moonves calls the shots). "Sure, people have asked 'are you crazy?' says Kelly Kahl, the network's scheduling guru. "And internally, some people are nervous. But we're juiced for this. CBS may skew older than the other networks, but it doesn't always have to be that way. MMA is something worth betting...
...While the move is a risk for CBS, it's major milestone for MMA, whose growth has been one of the decade's most stunning sports business success stories. For the first time a live MMA fight will be broadcast on one of the big four networks, an extraordinary feat for a sport that, just 10 or so years ago, was roundly derided as "human cockfighting." At first, the caged bouts were fought in the shadows, since the sport was banned in almost every state (it is now sanctioned in 33). But MMA now draws strong ratings on the cable...
...Videos of these brutal, bare-knuckled bouts (there goes Kimbo left-hooking some guy in the face, there's a Kimbo victim lying dazed and bloodied on the ground) drew over 10 million hits on YouTube. ProElite signed him up, and he has dominated his first three MMA fights. The 250-pound ball of fury might be the first Internet-generated athlete to reach mainstream superstardom. "I never thought it was going to blow up like this," he says...
...Even with Slice's compelling (dare we say inspirational) life story, MMA won't be a simple sell for CBS. The network needs to balance the expectations of rabid fans with those of new casual viewers, who will have to be spoon-fed MMA 101. "The challenge is that we have to serve two audiences," says Kahl. "We don't want to talk down to the hard-core fans, but we also can't alienate first-time viewers." Also, the network isn't exactly offering the sport prime real estate on the schedule, though CBS insists this is the best...
...biggest potential challenge is probably also its biggest appeal - the level of violence itself. True, MMA is no longer an anything-goes spectacle. Rules like weight classes and timed rounds have made it a much safer sport. But unlike pro wrestling, the violence is real, and unpredictable. "The sport is brutal," says James "The Colossus" Thompson, a British fighter who will take on Kimbo Slice this Saturday. "You can't sugarcoat it. I will try to hurt Kimbo." Kimbo says his mind-set in the ring is to "seek, kill and destroy." Sanctioned MMA fights have resulted in one death...