Fight Network buys TWC

The Sparrow

From wrestlingobserver.com:

While no official announcement has been made, TWC Fights in the U.K. has been purchased by The Fight Network in Canada according to the Ofcom license page. Fight Network programming will take over on the station in a few weeks in a deal that has been brewing for months. (thanks to Ian Hamilton)

That is awesome news in my opinion! I have never been to taken by TWC and recently it seems to have completely lost its way. However The Fight Network has always impressed me whenever I have heard anything about it.

I wonder if they are planning to bid on the rights for UFC in the UK? I know John McCarthy recently left refereeing in the UFC to become an analyst for The Fight Network.

In terms of programming that they could possibly show over here, in Canada they currently air Deep South, IWA, FMW, Memphis, Noah, ROH, The Contender, K-1, K-1 Heroes, Bodog, Elite XC and Cage Rage.

And the great thing from my point of view is that I am pretty sure that if they show Japanese wrestling or whatever they provide an English commentary unlike TWC who left the original commentary that very few ppl could understand.

As you can probably tell I am very excited about this prospect! Obviously I have no idea of their actual plans but imagine how awesome it would be if they got UFC rights??!:D:D

Mossy Monk

I think you are looking ahead of yourself with all this talk about UFC rights.

Vince135792003

woooo232 wrote: »

I wonder if they are planning to bid on the rights for UFC in the UK?

Apparently, the fight network was refused press credentials for UFC 79. So I wouldn't bet on it.

Still though, it could be very good.

gimmick

woooo232 wrote: »

And the great thing from my point of view is that I am pretty sure that if they show Japanese wrestling or whatever they provide an English commentary unlike TWC who left the original commentary that very few ppl could understand.

Oddly I actually prefer the Japanese commentary on NOAH etc. The English commentary I find very bland. The Japanese commentary makes things sound alot more exciting. I don't particularly care that I don't understand a word of it.

On the thrust of the thread, hopefully this will help the programming, as for the last 6-7 months its been absolutely brutal with repeats of repeated repeats, and terrible soft porn.

The Sparrow

Vince135792003 wrote: »

Apparently, the fight network was refused press credentials for UFC 79. So I wouldn't bet on it.

Still though, it could be very good.

Well that may be due to the fact that their MMA correspondent Loretta Hunt is writing Randy Couture's autobiography! Dana/ Vince - Vince /Dana who can tell them apart sometimes!:D

Yeah maybe I am looking too far into it but I did preface it by saying it was merely speculation on my part. I just think something like John McCarthy giving up being a referee to work as an analyst for the Fight Network shows that at least they have some intent to get bigger. And as was mentioned in another thread, UFC may be looking for somewhere to show their PPV's live in the UK so this may be a perfect fit.

Vince135792003

woooo232 wrote: »

And as was mentioned in another thread, UFC may be looking for somewhere to show their PPV's live in the UK so this may be a perfect fit.

I think Setanta would be favorites for it. Although they're not very established, it would seem like the obvious choice as they have been showing all the English ones live. Plus I think it would be good for the UFC image to be on a sports channel rather than one exclusive to combat sports.

To me, if I was UFC I would be jumping to try and get on Sky One with their reality show once their contract is up with Bravo. I remember reading though that things didn't go so well between Sky/UFC when they were on their network for a short amount of time in 2002.

Fozzy

Vince135792003 wrote: »

I remember reading though that things didn't go so well between Sky/UFC when they were on their network for a short amount of time in 2002.

Sky Sports broadcasted UFC highlight shows more recently than 2002, I'd guess that it was around 2005 that they stopped. But I do think I heard about there being a bad relationship between them when Sky broadcast the first UFC event in England for whatever reason

I think Setanta would have more money to get the UFC rights as well as the other things working in their favour. But it's great that the Fight Network has bought TWC, they seem to have much better programming. I don't have TWC though

gimmick

The fight network shows the following.

MMA

AFC ALASKA FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP

Every week, The Fight Network is host to hard-hitting MMA action from north of the border. The Alaska Fighting Championship is host to many up-and-coming fighters in the sport of mixed martial arts.

BODOG FIGHT

BodogFight is the action-packed mixed martial arts (MMA) reality series, created by billionaire Bodog.com Entertainment Group Founder Calvin Ayre. Tune in to see some of your favourite MMA stars including former professional wrestler Daniel Puder and current Pride FC Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko.

CAGE COMBAT

In darkened clubs and halls across London and the South East, a rowdy new spectator sport is emerging. It is Cage Combat. In a specially-constructed octagonal cage, two fighters face each other with no holds barred. Combining boxing, kick-boxing, wrestling and martial arts, Cage Combat is a brutal but intoxicating spectacle.

CAGE RAGE

Can you handle the Cage? Cage Rage features some of the best world class fights to come out of London, England. Cage Rage has been giving fight fans non stop action since 2001 and is growing in popularity each day.

ELITE XTREME COMBAT (ELITE XC)

Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks Inc. and ProElite, Inc. and officially announced on December 14, 2006. The first major event occurred February 10, 2007 at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi. Fighters Frank Shamrock and Renzo Gracie fought in the main event. The Fight Network broadcasts exclusive live Elite XC events.

HOOK AND SHOOT

HOOK AND SHOOT- is the most innovative mixed martial arts group in the world. Hook and Shoot is the brain child of Jeff Osbourne , and it is bringing you the next stars of the world and never before seen concepts such as female MMA matches and taking you behind the scenes and introducing you to the personalities of MMA.

IFC INTERNATIONAL FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The International Fighting Championships was first founded in 1996 and became the first MMA promotion to enact rules that were recognized by a state athletic commission (Mississippi/1996) Rules were established that allowed for the safety of the fighters, without detracting from the action. Weight divisions for both men and women were developed, and soon the IFC was working with athletic commissions around United States and Canada to bring prominence to this exciting new sport.

IVC: INTERNATIONAL VALE TUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS

Sergio Batarelli Productions presents the International Vale Tudo Championships. Batarelli, the father of Vale Tudo (“anything goes”) in Brazil started the IVC in 1997. Today it is one of the most respected MMA events in the world and is recognized as the leader in Vale Tudo fighting globally.

JUNGLE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Jungle Fight Championship broke the record for MMA pay-per-view events in Brazil, and this includes Pride and UFC events, The JFC promises fighters that if they fight on their card world wide recognition awaits them. Each fighter and guests that attend are required to help save the Amazon rainforest by helping to plant a tree. Great cause and great fights means a great show.

K1 HERO'S

A division of K-1, Hero’s goes beyond the standing fighting K-1 is known for. Grappling and takedowns are permitted in this MMA league and features MMA stars such as Bob Sapp, BJ Penn and former WWE champion Brock Lesner.

KING OF THE CAGE

The finest in Mixed Martial Arts competition, the evolution of combat features only professional, elite fighters from around the globe, "King of the Cage" is a competitive event pitting warrior against warrior in hand-to-hand battles of skill, honor and art.

MECA FIGHTING

Mixed martial arts from Brazil, featuring some of the world's top fighters. Before Anderson Silva, Wanderlai Silva, Murillo Rua and Mauricio Rua were recognized among the best fighters in the world, they were making a name for themselves in the stomping grounds of Meca.

PANCRASE FIGHTING

Pancrase is a mixed martial arts organization founded in Japan in 1993. It began as a real pro-wrestling promotion and has evolved into what is standard MMA. Stars include: Bas Rutten, Frank Shamrock, Ken Shamrock, and the promotion’s founders Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki.

RUMBLE ON THE ROCK

It's one of the fastest growing MMA companies anywhere, based of Hawaii. See the best fighters in the world from B.J Penn to Jason Miller and Jake Shields compete at Rumble on the Rock!

TKO - MAJOR LEAGUE MMA

TKO – Major League MMA continues to be leader in Mixed Martial Arts in Canada. TKO has produced some of the best fighters in the world including Patrick Cote, Georges St-Pierre, David Loiseau and many more. TKO has proven to offer fights and fighters at a world class level equal to Pride FC and the UFC.

U.C.E. - ULTIMATE COMBAT EXPERIENCE

Local amateur fighters compete in a tournament combining skills in kickboxing and no holds barred fighting. Tune in to catch the Ultimate Combat Experience.

PRO WRESTLING

BUSHIDO PRO WRESTLING

UWF presents “BUSHIDO- THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR”, a shoot style pro-wrestling promotion in Japan from 1991 to 1996. Stars include: Nobuhiko Takada, Kazushi Sakuraba, Dan Severn and Gary Albright. This program is considered the precursor to MMA.

DEEP SOUTH WRESTLING

Deep South Wrestling (or DSW) is a developmental pro-wrestling territory sponsored by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where WWE-contracted wrestlers train before they are promoted to the main roster. See the stars perform before they make it to the big stage.

FMW

Just when you thought you've seen it all! TOKYOPOP is proud to present FMW -- The Originators of Hardcore Wrestling. Screw all the rules - they don't apply here! Nothing will prepare you for all the extreme action that has made FMW infamous around the world... but be forewarned, this is like nothing you have ever seen before.

IWA - INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING ASSOCIATION

The International Wrestling Association (IWA) is a wrestling promotion in Puerto Rico. Started in 1994 by promoter Victor Quiñones. The company was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance until 2001. IWA was also a WWE Developmental territory from 1999-2001. The IWA is probably the fastest growing promotion in Puerto Rico of the past few years.

MEMPHIS CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING

A promotion with a ton of wrestling history, Memphis Championship Wrestling brings you memories of the past and the stars of tomorrow.

NOAH

The most successful wrestling promotion in all of Japan is now on The Fight Network. Originally voiced by Mauro Ranallo and Dan Lovranski, check out the hard hitting action of Kenta Kobashi, Jun Akiyama, Naomichi Marufuji and more!

NWE - NU WRESTLING EVOLUTION

The first major promotion to come out of Italy, featuring some of the biggest names in Pro Wrestling. Catch Rikishi and other recognized stars as they put Italian professional wrestling on the map.

PRO WRESTLING SUPERSTARS

A weekly compilation of matches from wrestling's glorious past and present. Featuring former WWE superstars, the best of the independents and controversial "shoot" comments.

RING OF HONOR

The most talked about independent promotion in the world today, Ring Of Honor is based around a pure wrestling style and a Code of Honor that all wrestlers must abide by. If you want a change from the soap opera of "sports entertainment", ROH is a promotion you don't want to miss.

TNA

The fastest growing wrestling promotion in the world! Since its inception in 2002, TNA has revolutionized North American pro wrestling with the breath taking X division and specialty matches including "Ultimate X". Featuring A.J Styles, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels and more!

WEW

The women are definitely not "Diva's"! These hard hitting beauties are extreme and are the perfect marriage between "Sports" and "Entertainment". Check out Women's Extreme Wrestling every Friday and Saturday night!

WRESTLING AT THE CHASE

Opening the vault of old matches and interviews who were St. Louis favorites make up an hour of nostalgia. The 11 a.m. ritual on Sunday at many homes in St. Louis from 1959 until 1983, featuring the names and faces in professional wrestling that became synonymous with the sport including: King Kong Brody, Ric Flair, Dick the Bruiser, Harley Race, Lou Thesz, The Von Erich’s and more.

BOXING

LEGENDS OF THE RING

From Muhammad Ali to Joe Frazier and Sugar Ray Leonard to Thomas Hearns, these classic fight packages will not only include the action inside the ring, but tell the back-story of each match as it happened. Hosted by Michael Buffer.

SO YOU WANNA FIGHT?

So You Wanna Fight 'cuz ya think yer tuff'. This is the REAL THING. No "Girly/Boy" fight routines here! just real life street battles brought into the boxing ring in scorching 2x1 minute minute rounds where the blows per round count frequently exceed 100. "There just 'aint nuthin' as exciting as So You Wanna Fight on TV today".

THE CONTENDER

The Contender is a reality television series that follows a group of boxers as they compete with one another in an elimination-style competition, while their lives and relationships with each other and their families are depicted. Produced by Mark Burnett, the show is hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard, who shared hosting duties in the first season with actor Sylvester Stallone. Leonard also serves as a trainer on the show, along with Tommy Gallagher.

WARRIORS BOXING

Boxing stars get it on and compete for IBA (International Boxing Assocation) titles. Don't miss your favourite boxers get it on only on The Fight Network.

KICKBOXING

K-1

K-1 is the top kickboxing league in the world featuring Bob Sapp, Musashi, Remy Bonjasky and all the top kickboxers in the world. K-1 is one of the biggest sporting events in Japan drawing 40,000 + fans to shows. Now is your chance to import this huge sport into your living room!

XFC KICKBOXING

XFC is a Canadian produced/promoted series of events in conjunction with Mike Miles Productions that showcases Canada's best kickboxing and Muay Thai athletes. XFC became one of Canada s premier fighting organizations for stand-up martial arts. With talented fighters like Trevor TNT Smandych, Rino Belcastro, Scott Pitbull Clarke, Adam Lumberjack Higson, Clifton Brown, Erin Linley and many more, the XFC was the standard for Canadian fighters. Featuring Canada's best vs. The World, XFC invigorated thousands of viewers across Canada and was the start of network interest in martial arts evolution. Many of the athletes in the XFC are now Canada's top stand-up fighters on the world professional circuit.

SPECIALITY SHOWS

1-ON-1 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

Every week, The Fight Network shows exclusive one-on-one interviews with some of the biggest names in the fighting world. Guests include Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Samoa Joe, Bernard Hopkins and more!

AMBER LADY HONEY WRESTLING

Watch as Eastern Europe's finest ladies wrestle their way into a sticky situation as they battle one another in a pool of honey.

BEFORE AND AFTER THE BELL

Before and after every big event or PPV, The Fight Network will be there with all your news and scoops. Catch every weigh-in, breaking news story and fight preview as they happen. Before The Bell is the only way to get pumped before a big show. For all your reviews and reactions, After The Bell will be your primary source for recaps.

FITNESS KICK

Wake up every morning with John Savidis and give your morning fitness routine an extra kick!

JAPANESE CATFIGHTING

It isn't Olympic wrestling by any stretch but the women of the Japanese Catfight world are out to kill. A cross between MXC, Baby Blue 2 and The Sunday Night Sex Show...it's Japanese Catfighting!

SUPER GIRLS

Canada’s first all-female Pro-Wrestling Promotion, based in British Columbia. These ladies definitely redefine the phrase “hits like a girl”. See the sport’s only third generation female star Nattie Neidhart of Canada’s legendary Hart family in action along with Ireland’s Rebecca Knox, California’s Cheerleader Melissa and many more. This is the promotion where the guys are the valets and managers and the ladies rule the ring!

AMBER LADY HONEY WRESTLING

Watch as Eastern Europe's finest ladies wrestle their way into a sticky situation as they battle one another in a pool of honey.

This particularly interests me !

Think Eurosport still has the right s to K1. Other than that, we should see plenty new stuff. Apparently the re launch happens January 15th.

Fozzy

I think Sky Sports have the right to Cage Rage over here, and EXC too. Deep South isn't associated with WWE anymore either. And TNA is on Bravo of course. Other than that it looks good

flahavaj

gimmick wrote: »

Oddly I actually prefer the Japanese commentary on NOAH etc. The English commentary I find very bland. The Japanese commentary makes things sound alot more exciting. I don't particularly care that I don't understand a word of it.

On the thrust of the thread, hopefully this will help the programming, as for the last 6-7 months its been absolutely brutal with repeats of repeated repeats, and terrible soft porn.

Agreed, there's nothing like watching Puro with the Commentators furiously warbling in Japanese in the background and occasionally recognising the names of big moves.

Lariatoooooo!

Tiga Drivaaaa!!!

And the English commentary on the NOAH releases is ****E.

Terry

I wouldn't mind seeing some IWA.
That's where Scott Hall is now.

gimmick

This channel seems to be gone as of today? Well, it is certainly gone from Sky Digital.

Must say, it will be no loss whatsoever, as even TFN started showing crappy old movies pretty much every day and ROH repeats. World Of Sport wa son all the time as well.

As for te progam listings I posted above, Id say about half of those ever made it to our TVs.

The only thing I will miss is Before/After The Bell, otherwise its good riddance.

jeffk

What a waste of a name/idea like the wrestling channel.
After tna id have thought they would have pushed to show more up to date roh!

rovert

The Fight Network (based in Canada) is having heavy financal problems so no major surprise.

Machismo Fan

It was rubbish anyway. They had ROH and World Of Sport and thats it. Though they did have Wrestling at the Chase a few months back (might still have been under TWC at the time) and that was great but we're not losing much with it going.

ShawnRaven

I'm not gonna f*cking miss it anyway, good riddance ot bad rubbish really.

Red Sleeping Beauty

Is TWC The Wrestling Channel ?
What's The Fight Network?

Is this all on Sky Digital ? No beans for NTL digital ?

Jason93

Does Fight! Network still show Deep South Wrestling? If so, when is it on?

RebelRockChick

alan dunne 27 wrote: »

Is TWC The Wrestling Channel ?
What's The Fight Network?

Is this all on Sky Digital ? No beans for NTL digital ?

Jason93 wrote: »

Does Fight! Network still show Deep South Wrestling? If so, when is it on?

TWC was The Wrestling Channel but was bought and renamed The Fight Network.

It used to be on Sky (I think it was also on NTL), but as gimmick mentioned, looks like the channel is gone now.

ShawnRaven

alan dunne 27 wrote: »

Is TWC The Wrestling Channel ?
What's The Fight Network?

Is this all on Sky Digital ? No beans for NTL digital ?

It was only Sky who carried TWC/TFN, NTL never bothered, much like Bravo 2 before TNA started being screened on 1 beforehand.

NTL - The Lidl of cable providers. :rolleyes:

Red Sleeping Beauty

ShawnRaven wrote: »

NTL - The Lidl of cable providers. :rolleyes:

QFT

Wasn't The Wrestling Channel a free to air channel on satellite? I remember seeing my first 2 shoot interviews (Bret & Shawn) years and years ago on that channel .

SuperWoody101

alan dunne 27 wrote: »

QFT

Wasn't The Wrestling Channel a free to air channel on satellite? I remember seeing my first 2 shoot interviews (Bret & Shawn) years and years ago on that channel .

Yes it was (Channel 427) I think?

ShawnRaven

alan dunne 27 wrote: »

QFT

Wasn't The Wrestling Channel a free to air channel on satellite? I remember seeing my first 2 shoot interviews (Bret & Shawn) years and years ago on that channel .

Yeah it was, i remember getting one of those freeview boxes and dishes from Lidl to try and get it. Could never get those stupid things to work. From what i saw of the channel, i didn't miss much.

Those shoot interviews were butchered to crap btw, they were never complete if i recall correctly.

Red Sleeping Beauty

ShawnRaven wrote: »

Yeah it was, i remember getting one of those freeview boxes and dishes from Lidl to try and get it. Could never get those stupid things to work. From what i saw of the channel, i didn't miss much.

Those shoot interviews were butchered to crap btw, they were never complete if i recall correctly.

You're never happy
I loved seeing them shoots back then. Can't remember what else TWC showed though, I remember they had some IWW at one stage though

ShawnRaven

alan dunne 27 wrote: »

You're never happy
I loved seeing them shoots back then. Can't remember what else TWC showed though, I remember they had some IWW at one stage though

I'm never happy for as long as a job isn't done properly. If you're gonna show a shoot, show a shoot, not half a shoot.

Red Sleeping Beauty

Ah well, I was happy. I was younger and it was the first time I'd see a shoot interview and I was mad for it .

ShawnRaven

alan dunne 27 wrote: »

Ah well, I was happy. I was younger and it was the first time I'd see a shoot interview and I was mad for it .

Ah yeah, they were alright if you hadn't seen em before. I started watching shoots around 2002 so i'd seen a rake of them by the time TWC were airing em

CMpunked

Holy crap, i thought that said IWW! :eek:

rovert

Comic-Book-Guy wrote: »

Holy crap, i thought that said IWW! :eek:

The mind boggles

ShawnRaven

Comic-Book-Guy wrote: »

Holy crap, i thought that said IWW! :eek:

You need glasses, pal! Seriously, how the f*ck did you confuse those two?!

CMpunked

gimmick wrote: »

IFC INTERNATIONAL FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

IVC: INTERNATIONAL VALE TUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS

IWA - INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING ASSOCIATION

ShawnRaven wrote: »

You need glasses, pal! Seriously, how the f*ck did you confuse those two?!

Man, i had a real early start in work this morning, Only back for a break now. bad times.