Counter Programming

In case you were wondering whether or not the UFC believes that a rising tide lifts all ships:

On Saturday, May 31, the best mixed martial arts programming on television will be on Spike TV, as the network presents a special night dedicated to UFC® superstar Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. The homage to Liddell will feature two Spike TV premiere events not to be missed by true UFC fans.

At 9:00pm ET/PT, Spike presents the world television premiere of "Ultimate Iceman: Chuck Liddell," an hour-long documentary which chronicles the life of one of the sport’s true titans, in and out of the Octagon™.

Spike debuts a special, "Liddell vs. Silva: UFC® Unleashed™-Special Edition" at 10:00pm ET/PT featuring the never-before-seen on cable battle between Liddell and Wanderlei Silva, which was fought last December at UFC 79: NEMESIS.

Top TV Execs Criticize CBS's Decision to Air MMA

The most high profile push back against EliteXC on CBS was launched this week by Sumner Redstone, the highly influential and respected chairman of CBS and Viacom. According to a report by the The Hollywood Reporter:

"Les usually asks my opinion," Sumner Redstone said Wednesday when asked about the four mixed-martial arts fights that will begin airing soon on CBS. This time, the Viacom and CBS chairman said, Moonves did not.

Redstone said the deal, struck with Elite Xtreme Combat, probably was a mistake, not because CBS won't turn a profit from it but because it is not "socially responsible" to air the typically bloody bouts on free, broadcast TV.

"I'm a lover not a fighter," Redstone said. "I don't like the sport."

The comments were made during a panel discussion on the sports industry at the Milken Institute Global Conference. Redstone and Moonves have had a rocky relationship in the past, so perhaps some of Redstone's criticism can be attribute to their personal conflict. However, Ed Goren, President of FOX Sports, was also critical of MMA on network television, telling the audience "we don't need money that badly."

It is important to note that the UFC's rumored negotiations with FOX are with the entertainment division and not Goren's sports division.

ProElite Inks DVD Distribution Deal

ProElite has reached a multi-year deal with Image Entertainment to distribute four EliteXC titles and eight ShowXC titles annually. EliteXC Destiny (featuring Shamrock-Gracie) and Renegade (featuring the debut of Kimbo Slice) will be released on May 13. On July 22 the company will release Huntington Beach Bad Ass featuring Tank Abbot.

Sports Business Journal Offers MMA Industry Reality Check

The following article was originally published in the April 21 edition of Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal and is republished here with permission. Thanks to Dan Kaplan and Richard Weiss.

Filings Show 2 MMA Groups Financially Bloodied

By Daniel Kaplan

Two key players in the mixed martial arts industry may soon go down for the count, underscoring the significant financial volatility in the sport despite its tremendous hype.

International Fight League and ProElite Inc., the latter of which made waves in February by signing the first MMA broadcast contract, warned in securities filings last week that they may run out of money later this year. Both also cautioned they could have accounting irregularities that resulted in inaccurate financial reports.

“You have got maybe some 20 MMA groups around the world, and every single one of them is struggling,” said Jay Larkin, IFL’s chief executive. “In the last three or four months, 10 have either reorganized, folded, changed names or completely gone out of business. That is a very heavy casualty rate for a sport that is supposed to be the greatest thing since the NBA.”

IFL is looking to align with a media concern or another MMA outfit, Larkin said, though the three-year-old company also is confident of raising additional equity. The MMA industry must consolidate to survive, Larkin said.

MMA combines boxing, judo and other hand-to-hand combat disciplines.

The dominant company in the conversation is Ultimate Fighting Championship, the Zuffa Corp.-owned outfit that dominates MMA but does not release financial results. UFC, which has previously dismissed rumors in the MMA world that it is looking for a buyer, declined to comment for this story.

Standard & Poor’s in November downgraded Zuffa’s $350 million of debt, citing weak pay-per-view buys and poor results in England.

IFL, which has lost $31 million since its inception in 2005, said in its annual 10-K filing last week that it “will likely have a cash shortage which would disrupt our operations, have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or business prospects and could result in us being unable to continue our operations.”

ProElite, which lost $27 million in 2007 on $5.3 million in revenue, similarly disclosed in its 10-K filing that “our auditors have expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.”

A ProElite spokesman, in an e-mail, said “The company is optimistic about its financial position improving.”

Later in its report, IFL stated, “Our auditors have identified a material weakness in our disclosure controls and procedures … due to insufficient resources in the accounting and finance departments.

“There is more than a remote likelihood that a material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements would not have been prevented or detected.”

ProElite also reported it has identified internal accounting control problems.

In 2007, IFL reported revenue of $5.7 million and a loss of $21.3 million. The company is cutting the number of events it stages from 13 last year to six or seven this year. Commissioner Kurt Otto, who earned $250,000 in 2007, was let go on March 31 and instead will be paid $10,000 per event as a consultant.

UFC is broadcast on Spike, while IFL has deals with Fox Sports Net and MyNetwork. ProElite, which recently signed renowned fighter Kimbo Slice, announced in February a broadcast package with CBS.

Pro Elite 10-K Notes

ProElite released its 10-K annual report last week. The company has lost a total of $31.3 million through the end of 2007, including $27.1 million last year alone. As with the IFL, the company's auditors have also expressed "substantial doubt" about ProElite's ability to continue as a going concern. However, the company's practical reality is much brighter thanks to the continued financial support of CBS/Showtime, whereas the IFL must find a financial patron.

The company generated $5.3 million in revenue in 2007 including $4.6 million in live event revenue, $447,679 in television and pay-per-view revenue, and $184,192 in merchandise, DVDs, and licensing fees. Live event expenses total $9.6 million including $2.9 million in production costs paid to Showtime. The company ran 18 events which would bring the cost per event to around $533,000, nearly one-third of the $1.2 million per event spent by the IFL. The difference would seem to be a step discount in production costs provided by Showtime, however, that's really just speculation, especially in comparing across companies and accounting practices.

In 2007 the company received no license fee from Showtime and bore all the production costs. This year the company will be receiving a licensing fee, reported by Dave Meltzer to be between $50,000 (for ShowXC events) up to $500,000 (for major events), to be split between ProElite and Showtime and the network will bear the cost of production. As part of the deal Showtime received a number of stock warrants and the right to appoint one member of the ProElite board of directors.

ProElite.com was the most eye catching item line on the company's balance sheet, costing $3.3 million in 2007 while generating only $68,782 in revenue. That is a mind boggling amount of money to spend on a website. The website is an integral part of the company's business plan:

Our business plan is to capitalize on the popularity and growth of mixed martial arts in building an “elite” fight brand, EliteXC, while also taking advantage of the Internet to capture fans, fighters and organizations in combat sports with its ProElite.com social networking web site. We plan on reaching MMA fans and participants through normal marketing channels (print, television, radio) and harnessing the efficient networking available over the Internet. We are in the process of acquiring multiple on- and off-line brands to increase our entertainment properties, content libraries and tool set offerings for fighters, fans and organizations in and around MMA. EliteXC, our fight brand, produces and promotes live events featuring the top fighters in MMA while ProElite.com has created an MMA grassroots online social network. We cross-promote our Internet and live properties so that each can strengthen the other.

The filing also recognized what many outside the company have identified as a major flaw in the company's management, absentee executives:

The Company’s executives, directors and shareholders have business relationships requiring them to advise, manage and/or provide services to other businesses. The Company has engaged in transactions with some of these businesses. Due to the wide-ranging network of contacts and business relationships of our executives, directors and shareholders, the Company was not always able to devote sufficient resources to identify, monitor and report all transactions with such businesses in a timely manner.

These executives appear to have been well paid based on the salaries of CEO David DeLuca ($200,000), President of EliteXC Gary Shaw ($435,724), and President of ProElite.com Kelly Perdew ($475,224). The company recently went through a management restructuring with DeLuca being promoted to Chairman of the Board and replaced by Charles Champion as CEO. The move was made shortly after the CBS deal was announced and is believed to represent CBS's increasing influence on the company.

CBS-EXC Announce 5/31 Lineup

Today CBS and EliteXC officially announced the lineup for the first edition of Saturday Night Fights. The broadcast will air live from 9-11PM EST from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey:

"In terms of recognition and perception, I believe May 31 is the biggest and single most important MMA fight card ever. It will forever change the landscape of the sport and how it is perceived," said Gary Shaw, EliteXC Live Events President.

The lineup:

• Kimbo Slice v. James "Colossus" Thompson
  
• EliteXC Middleweight Title: "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler v. Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith
• Gina "Conviction" Carano v. Kaitlin Young
• Phil Baroni v. Murilo "Ninja" Rua
• Brett "The Grim" Rogers v. Jon Murphy

The company also recently announced contract extensions with Kimbo, Lawler, and Carano.

EXC on CBS: Second Date Announced; Rating Expectations

CBS has announced July 26 as the date of the second EliteXC prime time special. The first special is set to air on May 31. The announcement of a second date is of course no guarantee it will actually take place, the television industry is nothing if not a show me business with the ratings of the first special crucial to the actual broadcast of a second event.

There was some gnashing of teeth about EliteXC's chance of success in light of CBS's quick cancellation of Secret Talents of the Stars last week. The program got the axe despite finishing third in its time slot (Wednesday Night at 10PM) and drawing 4.6 million viewers.

However, it is important to remember that was a very expensive reality TV production, footed entirely by CBS. In contrast, EliteXC is very inexpensive programming, costing only a relatively small licensing fee. Expensive programming has high expectations and has to perform out of the gate. Inexpensive programs, particularly those that the network believes in, generally have lower pressure to deliver out of the gate. Given CBS's significant financial commitment to the company, and the brand's seeming importance to Showtime, it is not unreasonable to expect that EXC will be given every chance to succeed.

The results will be measured against "comp" ratings, i.e. comparable ratings from the same time slot and time of year. In that light, the bar becomes much lower with the bench mark being Saturday night during the summer, a traditional dumping ground for network television. Very early speculation around the industry suggests that anything approaching three million viewers would be considered a success.

Shamrock-Cung Le Showtime Rating

Showtime's 3/29 broadcast of the EliteXC-Strikeforce event featuring Frank Shamrock v. Cung Le did a 1.2 rating (287,00 viewers), according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The number is considered a disappointment, trailing Kimbo-Tank (1.9), Shamrock's first two fighters (1.6, 1.7), and Lawler-Rua (1.5).

Ratings Flash: Shamrock-Le, Iron Ring, & ShowXC

• The Fight Network's broadcast of the event in Canada was the most watched program in the network's history. The event drew 37,000 viewers from the network's small 450,000 subscribers for an 8.2 rating with a 13.0 peak quarter hour. No rating for the Showtime broadcast has been released.
• The second episode of Iron Ring, in a new 10:30PM time slot, did a 0.76 rating (845,000 viewers) on BET.
• The ShowXC 3/21 event drew a 0.66 rating on Showtime, the best number yet for the series
  

CREDIT: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Noons Turns Down EXC on CBS

The San Diego Union-Tribune ran a feature last weekend on the rise of MMA in the context of EliteXC's recent CBS deal. The most interesting note in the piece to regular followers of the industry was the following tidbit on EliteXC's insistence on exclusive contracts:

According to Dion, Noons (6-1) tentatively was scheduled to appear on this card, but before EliteXC would offer him a contract, it wanted him to commit to three additional matches under its stewardship. Dion would not commit.

“They're trying to slam-dunk guys into long-term contracts in order to be on CBS,” Dion said.

You may remember Dion from the recent coverage of his dispute with Brandon Vera.

Fedor Update

The never ending story that is the Fedor Emelianenko sweepstakes continues after the collapse of M-1 Global with no end in sight. EliteXC reportedly made a four fight, seven figure offer, however, the sides appear to be far a part on terms with Gary Shaw's statement that Fedor wants $2 million per fight. The UFC is also reportedly interested, but the two sides remained far apart last year despite prolong negotiations.

CBS-NBC Politics

The already testy relationship between EliteXC and Strikeforce has grown even more complicated thanks to the politics of each promotion's respective network television deal. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, fighters will be unable to appear on both networks. In theory, Frank Shamrock would be the fighter most affected by the restriction.

EliteXC and Strikeforce will co-promote Shamrock's next fight, however, at that point his Strikeforce contract will expire, while his EliteXC deal reportedly runs through the end of 2009. That would seem to indicate that Shamrock will become exclusive to EliteXC later this year. Shamrock is also under consideration as part of CBS's announce team.

EliteXC/Strikeforce 3/29 Payouts

MMAJunkie.com obtained the CSAC's financial report on last Saturday's joint EliteXC/Strikeforce event. The event drew 15,192 (14,710 paid) for a total live gate of $1,117,855. Strikeforce joins Zuffa as the only MMA promoters to top $1 million at the gate in North America. The total disclosed payroll was $667,850. Reported payouts:

• Cung Le ($200,000) d. Frank Shamrock ($300,000)
• Drew Fickett ($10,000) d. Jae S. Lim ($3,000)
• Gilbert Melendez ($50,000) d. Gabe Lemley ($7,000)
• Wayne Cole ($10,000) d. Mike Kyle ($10,000)
• Joey Villasenor ($36,000) d. Ryan Jensen ($6,000)
• Billy Evangelista ($10,000) d. Marlon Sims ($2,500)
• Tiki Ghosn ($8,000) d. Luke Stewart ($6,000)
• Darren Uyenoyama ($4,000) d. Anthony Figueroa ($2,000)
• Jesse Jones ($2,150) d. Jesse Gillespie ($1,200)

CREDIT: MMAJunkie.com

IFL & ProElite File NT 10-Ks

The IFL and ProElite both filed NT 10-Ks in the last three days. The respective statements concerning each company's delay:

International Fight League, Inc. (the “Company”) is unable to file Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 within the prescribed time period because the Company could not complete the preparation of the required information without unreasonably effort and expense due to shortage of finance staff, changes in senior management and time delays to complete an internal control assessment.

In March 2008, ProElite, Inc. (the “Company”) changed management, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer. This new management is gathering information to make certain decisions, which require significant judgment, relating to the Company’s financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2007. The analysis of this information could result in non-cash charges to operations that could be significant in total. However, management has not yet completed its analysis and decision making. Therefore, the Company requires additional time to file its Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2007. It is anticipated that these financial statements together with the Form 10-KSB will be filed by April 15, 2008.

Electric: EliteXC-Strikeforce, Shamrock-Le Deliver Memorable Night

The honest truth is that most MMA events, like most sporting events, are forgettable. The event is hyped, some better than others; fans are excited, sometimes more than others; anticipation builds; the event happens, some are more entertaining than others; fans are satisfied, sometimes more than others; and the process repeats itself with the last event forgotten, remembered only for its relevance to the hype of the next event. As the relentless expansion of MMA on television continues, this is phenomenon that will on increase. But occasionally an event, or at least a fight, transcends that pattern and becomes something special.

Only hours removed from the glow, last night's EliteXC-Strikeforce co-promotion, or at the very least its main event, feels like one of those special nights that people remember. From top to bottom this was one of the strongest shows I can recall seeing, with conclusive finishes in every fight, but it was the main event that may transform this from a good show into a legendary show, an "instant classic" in MMA.

The tone for the night was actually set five minutes before the live broadcast began with a brilliant five minute Showtime short interview with Frank Shamrock. It was five of the most effective promotional minutes you will ever see. There was nothing fancy about it, just a get to know you rapid fire interview with Shamrock's charisma turning it into something great. In case you didn't believe he would be one of the biggest draws in the sport instantly with the right television platform, he proved it again later in the broadcast during another promotional piece.

The Shamrock-Le main event is a must see and a rematch is a no brainer. EXC's second CBS date is reportedly set for July, giving Shamrock three months to heal. The politics of the EXC-Strikeforce arrangement have always been difficult and will undoubtedly become more difficult now that both have their own network TV deals, but Le-Shamrock II may be the best fight all of MMA (including the UFC) can offer on network TV right now.

Despite what was probably a disappointing finish for some, the fight is an early fight of the year candidate and one of the best fights I've ever seen. It was such a great fight for three rounds, enhanced by a hot crowd, that I was shocked at the finish (when Shamrock couldn't come out for the fourth round with a broken arm), but not disappointed.

This was a star making turn for Le and perfect timing for Strikeforce as they go national on NBC with Le as the face of the promotion. If NBC representatives were in the building, or even watching at home, it is easy to imagine visions of the rematch live on NBC dancing in their heads. This was that kind of main event on that kind of show.

The weakest segment of the entire broadcast was a live interview with Kimbo Slice in the middle of the cage. He got a nice reaction, but nothing close to a super star reaction, at least not at the level of Shamrock or Le. Even though he's become the face of the brand and is a legitimate phenomenon, EXC has to be careful about shoving him down people's throats. Kimbo has a great look and persona to go with an exciting style, but the segment died when he started talking. In his defense, he was put in a position to fail with nothing to talk about (like who he will be facing on the CBS debut).

It will be interesting to see what kind of numbers the show does to see if there was any bump from the CBS publicity or the strength of the event itself. Speaking of CBS, it's a shame that EliteXC can't bottle tonight for its network television debut because it will be hard pressed to live up to this performance. This was the kind of show that gains traction for a brand, the kind of show that people point to as the turning point for a company. However, given than it was Strikeforce's main event and live promotion, the case can be made that, if there is a turning point to be pointed to, it belongs to Scott Coker and company, not EliteXC.

Three Ways to See Shamrock-Le Tonight

Tonight's EliteXC-Strikeforce event is available on Showtime ($10 per month on Time Warner Cable), pay-per-view for $24.95, and Showtime.com will have a free online stream of the cage cam for Shamrock-Le. The main card:

• Joe Villasenor (24-6) v. Ryan Jensen (11-3)
• Mike Kyle (9-5-1) v. Wayne Cole (10-6)
• STRIKEFORCE LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE:
  
• Gilbert Melendez (13-1) v. Gabe Lemley (11-6)
• Drew Fickett (31-5) v. Jae Suk Lim (9-3)
• STRIKEFORCE MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE:
  
• Frank Shamrock (25-8-2) vs. Cung Le (5-0)

Gary Shaw will also announce Kimbo Slice's opponent for EXC's CBS debut.

EliteXC 3/8 Rating

EliteXC's March 8th broadcast on Showtime, featuring the return of Ken Shamrock, did a 0.7 rating (186,000 viewers) according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. That number is one third of the number drawn by Kimbo-Tank. The program also lost 273,000 viewers from its live boxing lead-in which drew a 1.0 rating.

Head-to-head HBO Boxing drew 1.24 million viewers for a heavyweight title fight, which would equate to a roughly 3.0 rating for the network.

EliteXC's CBS Debut Takes Shape

Today EliteXC officially announced the first details of its CBS debut. The first broadcast will air on Saturday May 31 from 9-11PM EST live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Kimbo Slice will headline the card against a yet to be named opponent with Robbie Lawler defending the EXC Middleweight Title against UFC veteran Scott Smith in the co-main event. The card will also feature Gina Carano against an opponent to be announced. Showtime Sports will handle the production.

Ken Shamrock's loss earlier this month was a major setback, but all things considered this looks like about the best show that could put together. The phenomenon that is Kimbo Slice is well documented, but don't discount the chance for Lawler and/or Carano to catch fire coming out of this show as well. Lawler has a marketable style and look and his fight with Smith promises to be a brawl. Carano on the other hand has that it factor, as evidenced by her popularity on American Gladiators, and a history of exciting fights.

Effect of ProElite-CBS Deal on Fighter Sponsorships

Preliminary analysis of the ProElite-CBS deal has focused on the more abstract benefits to the sport at large or the company in specific. However, it is not just MMA in general and ProElite in particular that stand to benefit from the exposure of CBS, but also the fighters themselves who will be faced with an array of new opportunities.

One of the top agents in the industry told MMAPayout.com that he expects fighters’ sponsorship revenue to increase significantly. He estimated that the value of premium placement opportunities, namely butt and front top center of fight shorts, will go from $3,000-$10,000 on non-main card fights to $7,500-15,000 for CBS events. Top fighters with an established record, reputation, and positive persona could see their sponsorship asking price reach over $50,000.

This will unquestionably give ProElite an advantage it didn’t possess before and make it a more attractive option for free agent fighters.

With the UFC reportedly moving away from pay-per-view and signing bonuses in favor of discretionary bonuses according to Dave Meltzer, there is room for ProElite to enhance its recruitment efforts in order to attract and retain more top flight talent.

Ready for Prime Time?: EliteXC on CBS

ProElite has what UFC President Dana White so desperately wanted and has publicly stated is the next important step for the MMA industry: network television. But the old adage goes, be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Has ProElite, and with it the entire MMA industry, bitten off more than it can chew? Is MMA in general and EliteXC in particular ready for prime time?

The answer to that question will shape the future of the industry. EliteXC on CBS will either prove to be a ratings hit and other promotions will see their opportunities expanded or MMA will be branded a mainstream failure, a niche audience with no place on major network television. That’s why as much as White despises his competition even he has to hope his rival does at least good enough numbers to keep the door open for the UFC.

“The CBS deal didn’t work for us,” White said recently. “At the end of the day, listen, when you are talking about a show like ProElite or any of these other shows, they will give up their right (expletive) to get on television. They will give away everything to be on TV.”

This statement, along with statements by Top Rank’s Bob Arum, seem to confirm what MMAPayout.com has reported before, that the ProElite-CBS deal more closely resembles a quote-unquote “time buy” than either side is anxious to admit. There is no shame in that fact, while the UFC as the questioned industry leader is in position to hold out for creative control and a fairer financial deal, ProElite, as the challenger who had been largely treading water at best, had nothing to lose and everything to gain by making a deal with CBS by any means necessary.

The UFC on the other hand has already established itself as the only viable company in the sport and the unquestioned giant of the industry. In the eyes of the mainstream media and corporate world, the UFC is MMA. With its position secure, the UFC has little incentive to risk its reputation and position on a deal that doesn’t give it whatever it believes it needs to be successful on network television.

However, by ceding leadership of the industry to ProElite on major network television, White has now effectively put Doug DeLuca and Gary Shaw in charge of securing a favorable outcome for the entire industry, the UFC included. EliteXC’s numbers on CBS will hang around the neck of every promoter in the industry during negotiations with television partners for years to come. If successful, a major new revenue stream in the form of lucrative rights fees may be opened up to the industry as a whole. If ProElite fails, MMA risks losing its mystique as the fastest growing sport in the country and all the financial opportunities and exposure that goes with it.

Such an important task would almost certainly be better left to White and the UFC. Granted there are criticisms to be made of White, but the fact remains that he is the only promoter who has proven he can make this product work. As much as others in the industry may dislike him and his company’s aggressive trade practices, it the UFC’s growth, under White’s distinctive leadership, that has opened the door for everyone else in the industry. As White is all too fond of saying, MMA is not hot, the UFC is.

There seems to be a fairly strong sentiment within the industry that EliteXC is facing an uphill battle to draw the kind of numbers that would equal success on a major broadcast network. The UFC's biggest overall rating is a 3.1 (average of 4.7 million viewers) for UFC 75. That event featured Quinton Jackson v. Dan Henderson in the most watched fight in the history of MMA with 5.9 million viewers.

To put those numbers in perspective, CBS through February of this year is reportedly averaging almost 11 million prime time viewers.

In searching for benchmarks for MMA on network TV, a frequent comparison is made to World Wrestling Entertainment. From 1985 through 1992 WWE's Saturday Night Main Event was a major draw on network TV, averaging a 9.3 rating during that span. The recent reincarnation has been a flop, averaging a 2.55.

What changed? A major factor, outside of increased competition from cable television, seems to be the product’s increased exposure. With four hours of original first run programming each week, some would say that today’s WWE is overexposed despite the fact that on average the programs draw 4.2-5.7 million viewers per week. During the company’s glory run on NBC and FOX major weekly television shows were not part of the equation, making network television specials must see TV.

Overexposure has been a hot topic of debate in MMA this year, particularly with the UFC’s ever expanding pay-per-view schedule. However, without the presence of a glut of original weekly programming, or the temperance of a $44.95 price tag, it is hard to believe MMA will suffer the same fate as the WWE recently has on network television.

One of the biggest overlooked factors in the ultimate success of the entire venture is how much promotional money CBS will put behind the events? Will the network fully embrace the sport with a major integrated rollout or simply shove EliteXC into the television wasteland of Saturday night to sink or swim on its own?

Early indications from inside the network and CBS’s financial investment in the company suggest that if EliteXC fails it won’t be for lack of network support. However, the structure of the deal reveals a strong, but fluid relationship between the two companies. CBS is invested in ProElite, but not truly committed. Look at your breakfast plate for the difference. The chicken is invested, but the pig is committed.