Glory CEO: U.S. Television Deal Imminent for Superfight Series Cards

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Glory has a new television deal in the works which will see its Superfight Series cards -- essentially the prelims to the numbered-event main cards -- air either live or on tape delay in the United States.

Glory CEO Jon Franklin told Sherdog.com that a deal is being finalized and that details will be revealed before the show takes place.

“Glory Superfight Series 19 will be on television in the U.S. Exactly how I can’t announce yet, but I can say it will be on TV in the U.S.,” he said. “The Glory Superfight Series 18 card [which took place in Oklahoma in November] will air on U.S. television in the next few weeks, and we’re currently talking to potential broadcast partners about having the Glory Superfight Series 19 card aired either live or on a tape-delay basis.

“So the goal right now is to close a deal for that,” Franklin continued. “The plan is to bring that show to the U.S. fans; it’s already on television in more than 30 countries, so there’s no reason U.S. fans shouldn’t be able to see it as well.”

Franklin took over as Glory CEO late in 2014. With a background in television production, he has been concentrating on that side of Glory’s operation and says there are several developments in the pipeline.

Talk of a reality show has swirled. Franklin is open to the idea but would like to see such a project produced in conjunction with a television partner rather than being self-funded. However, there will be more Countdown-style preview shows for numbered events.

“We’re airing a television special as a lead-in to Glory 19 that will air on Jan. 30 on Spike TV, and it’s a look behind the scenes of this heavyweight championship fight. We plan to do one of those before each event,” he said. “Then before Glory 18 we did a ‘Knockout Special’ highlight show, and we’ve got more features in the works from a new production company we are using. They work on big pay-per-view boxing events for one of the world’s top combat sports figures. They will be helping us produce our show.

“We will have more details to announce on our shoulder-programming, as well as confirmation on the Superfight Series broadcast. We’re also in the process of renewing and expanding our international television deals, so it’s an exciting time for the company right now.”

Glory’s next event takes place Feb. 6 and is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Rico Verhoeven and Errol Zimmerman. Franklin revealed earlier this week that boxing icon Mike Tyson is joining the commentary team for this event.