CBS: Fedor Boosts Credibility with Advertisers

Having the world’s No. 1 heavyweight as its centerpiece has been a boon for CBS.

Kelly Kahl, executive vice president for primetime programming, said the addition of Fedor Emelianenko has certainly sweetened the deal in advertiser interest for Strikeforce “Fedor vs. Rogers” on Nov. 7, the network’s first live MMA event telecast in over a year.

“I think (Fedor) made it a lot easier for our sales guys and our sales are going very, very well for this fight,” said Kahl. “To be able walk in with a presentation and show Fedor shows a credibility and it speaks volumes to have a world-class fighter and maybe the best in the world. I think it certainly made it an easier sell than maybe we’ve had in the past.”

Kahl said movies studios, automobile purveyors, and video game companies are among those that have bought commercial slots.

“EA Sports is unveiling a preview of their MMA game in this fight exclusively,” said Kahl. “In terms of getting mainstream sports reporters interested, Fedor gives us the credibility that maybe we didn’t have before. It alerts a lot of people who maybe didn’t know who Kimbo Slice is, but they certainly know who Fedor is.”

Kahl said the network doesn’t have a set number of shows it might produce with Strikeforce (Sherdog reported last February that the deal options out four primetime specials a year with the network), and the network will take a “wait and see’ attitude. Past MMA events on CBS have garnered between 4 and 7 million viewers.

“We’ll go one at a time (and) hopefully see some success on November 7, talk with our partners at Showtime and Strikeforce, then hopefully set up another one,” he said.