After some lackluster audience numbers for 2012 K-1 shows on Spike.com, reports had begun to surface that the Spike/K-1 deal was dead. Bloody Elbow reached out to Spike, and received official confirmation from the network. A Spike TV representative confirmed that the K-1 deal was officially not renewed for 2013, and the network will no longer be airing K-1 shows. Bad news for kickboxing fans, right?
Well, there may be a silver lining. While nothing is official, Spike did confirm that they are looking at other kickboxing promotions to air on the network, including K-1's biggest rival - Glory. While K-1 may still have the casual fan name recognition, Glory is clearly the better run, superior brand at this point. It's unclear when we'll see the next K-1 show, or even if they will continue to operate at all.
Meanwhile, Glory is already looking at a stacked 2013, including Tyrone Spong vs. Remy Bonjasky headlining Glory 5 London on March 13, and Daniel Ghita vs. Gokhan Saki at Glory 6 Istanbul on April 6. Both are superb fights that could really appeal to US audiences. Let's hope Spike and Glory reach a deal soon to bring these world class fights here to US television.
Comments