CANAL+ exclusive French language PFL rights holder in Sub-Saharan Africa
All PFL Fight Franchises to air live on Canal+
NEW YORK (July 11, 2024) – The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, today announced a multi-year media rights agreement with CANAL+, the longest standing and market share leader in French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa, for French language rights. The partnership also includes Myanmar and Haiti, where CANAL+ broadcasts several top sports competitions.
CANAL+ will provide live localized programming, continuing across all PFL Global, PFL Europe, PFL MENA, Bellator Champions Series, PFL Super Fights, selected PFL and Bellator archives, and also PFL Africa which will launch in 2025. This initiative will benefit from the prime exposure offered by Canal+ Sport channels in Sub-Saharan Africa, where CANAL+ will carry PFL action live with French commentary on linear channels to nearly 8 million homes.
“The Professional Fighters League could not be more excited to partner with Canal+ bringing our brand to French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa,” said James Frewin, PFL Managing Director International. “The PFL believes strongly in connecting with MMA fans in areas that have been traditionally underserved in the sport and doing so in their native languages. Canal+ is the sports media brand that lives in the hearts and minds of the French-speaking population in Sub-Saharan Africa and is synonymous with premium sport.”
Jacques du Puy, CEO of CANAL+ International, says, “We are proud to bring PFL to our African subscribers. Fighting competitions, and MMA leagues in particular, attract ever larger audiences of fans among African audiences. And we are all the more thrilled to partner with a dedicated PFL franchise in Africa and broadcast top fights with stars such as Francis Ngannou or Cedric Doumbe. This perfectly fits our strategy of promoting African sport on the continent and beyond.”
The 2024 PFL Global Season and Global Season Playoffs are available live across ESPN platforms in the U.S. and via DAZN in Canada, Europe, and additional premium sports platforms internationally.
PFL is the only organization in MMA with the sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship each year. The combined roster of PFL and Bellator boasts 30% of its fighters independently world-ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight-classes. PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport and is building the “Champions League of MMA” with PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and more international leagues in development. PFL leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage, powering fight analytics, real-time betting, AI scoring, and a next-generation viewing experience. PFL is available on ESPN/ESPN+ in the U.S., DAZN in Canada and Europe, and broadcast and streamed in 160 countries with 20 premium media distribution partners.
ABOUT PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE
Professional Fighters League (PFL) is a global powerhouse in MMA and the fastest-growing sports league worldwide. PFL has five live fight franchises, offering year-round content: PFL League Season, PFL PPV Super Fights, PFL Challenger Series, PFL International Leagues, and Bellator. Founded in 2018, PFL is backed by major blue-chip investors, including SRJ, Ares, Knighthead, Luxor Capital, Waverley Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, and numerous NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS team owners. MMA is the growth sport business of this decade, with 650 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demographic, and true global revenue streams. PFLmma.com; Instagram (@PFLmma); Twitter (@PFLMMA); Facebook (/PFLmma).
ABOUT CANAL+ GROUP
CANAL+ Group, a subsidiary of Vivendi, is a leader in the creation and distribution of content in the world, with a presence in more than 50 countries and nearly 7,600 employees on every continent. CANAL+ Group has 26.4 million subscribers worldwide, including 17.1 million in Europe, 8.1 million in Africa, and 1.2 million in Asia-Pacific. It is the largest shareholder in MultiChoice, the leader in pay-TV in English and Portuguese-speaking Africa; Viaplay, the Scandinavian leader in pay-TV and streaming; and is also a shareholder in Viu, a leading Asian streaming business.
CANAL+ Group invests 3.5 billion euros in content every year, making the group a key player in sport (main funder in France of football and rugby, and the leading partner of UEFA and the EPL internationally), films (leading funder in France and Poland), series (including more than 50 original series per year in over 15 languages), and entertainment (documentaries, comedy, shows). CANAL+ Group offers over 2,000 channels, including 130 produced in-house. In addition to content creation and its own channels, CANAL+ Group acts as an aggregator of both linear channels and global streaming services, including Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, Apple TV+, and Max.
With the support of its subsidiary STUDIOCANAL and its network of 14 production companies, including 13 in Europe and one in the United States, CANAL+ Group is the leading producer and distributor of feature films and TV series in Europe. It holds a catalogue of nearly 9,000 titles from more than 60 countries, including those of Orange Studio following the acquisition of OCS by CANAL+ Group.
Canal+ Group is an innovative, technology-based company, with a leading direct-to-consumer digital offer via its CANAL+/myCanal app, which is deploying internationally at an accelerating rate and currently has a presence in more than 40 countries and territories. canalplusgroup.com/en
