Mixed martial arts has proven to be a fast-growing sport in the U.S. market. With the numbers of viewers rising in domestic and international settings, it's only inevitable that bigger players will begin to come to the table to get a piece of the pie. M-1 Global has proven to be one of those organizations with Sibling Entertainment entering the mix to get their share. Now, it looks like IMG (International Management Group) may be looking to get in on the action.
MMAPayout.com had a little blurb regarding the past, present, and future of mergers and acquisitions in the MMA market:
PRESENT: Strong rumors within the industry suggest that sports giant IMG is poised to enter MMA. Sources tell MMAPayout.com that IMG is set to replace Showtime as the majority owner of Pro Elite (EliteXC) in a deal that is believed to be imminent.
IMG is a sports talent agency and also has a seperate events production company. It also has its hands in a plethora of sports ventures. It was founded by Mark McCormack, a major sports agent with clients such as Tiger Woods, Pete Sampras, Derek Jeter, Charles Barkley, and even models such as Kate Moss and Elizabeth Hurley. He was mainly involved personally in golf and tennis, but his company delved in all things sports.
IMG is considered the world's largest sports marketing firm. They also have the largest distributor and producer of televised sports in the world under their child company, Trans World International or TWI. Add in their performing arts management firm, IMG Artists, and it is safe to say that IMG has its arms extended into nearly every piece of the entertainment puzzle.
It's obvious that this is a huge deal for ProElite if it happens. IMG not only has the production capacity to up the production values of the MMA promotion, but they have the connections to take ProElite into other avenues and money to back it. They've produced television programs for the English Premier League, FIFA, ASP Tour, and were the original producers of American Gladiators. They've obviously got the experience in producing sports programming to give ProElite an edge in that department, and have experience in international markets as well, especially in England where Cage Rage resides.
They've marketed some of the biggest sports in the world, and it would only give EliteXC more value with better marketing and possibly up the viewership. It's an interesting rumor that is apparently close to happening. ProElite may become something much bigger in the future.