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Ready for all fights, all the time?
By
GORDON MACFARLANE - Winnipeg Sun
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In today's burgeoning world of cable and satellite television,
consumers can tune in to channels dedicated to almost every theme imaginable.
From politics to porn to poker, the new on-demand universe seems determined to
offer something for everyone.
That said, it may well have been inevitable someone would eventually come
along with the idea for an all-fight network.
Martial arts movies have long been a staple of North American viewers, as
has professional wrestling and of course boxing. Recently, live mixed martial
arts competition has also become something of a sensation, even boasting its
own reality television show to help spread the word.
Still, while the notion of an "All fights all the time" network may seem a
timely and obvious idea, one doesn't just wish it so. In order that those
interested might tune into a scrap morning, noon and night, somebody out there
has to have done a lot of work.
Based in Toronto and called The Fight Network, this new Canadian venture is
the brainchild of Mike Garrow and had its official launch Friday, Oct. 21. As is often the case with great Canadian ideas, the notion
for an all-fighting network was first conceived over post-hockey beers between
Garrow and his pals.
"None of us could understand why somebody hadn't done it yet," Garrow
explained, "so we figured why not?"
With Garrow on point and friend Sandy Winick taking care of the financial
details, they set out to see if it could be done. The further they looked the
more excited they became and, as of Oct. 21, the first all fight network in
North America will be on the air. Broadcasting an ambitious schedule of recent
live events and the taped catalogues of various promotions, The Fight Network
will augment its lineup with martial arts movies, documentaries and other
related programming.
Though not yet available here in Manitoba, the network has received
positive reviews in Ontario and the Maritimes. An integrated multimedia
service combining television, radio and the internet, The Fight Network has
been several years in the making and Garrow strongly believes his product will
prove able to sell itself.
With the slogan "All Fights all the Time" being as much mission statement
as catchphrase, The Fight Network will have a lot of air time to fill. Along
with established internationally known brands like Showtime boxing and Pride
Fighting Championships, The Fight Network also plans to work with various
promoters across Canada to provide programming.
One such partnership is with AWE wrestling here in Winnipeg. According to
Garrow, AWE will produce and provide episodes of their wrestling show to The
Fight Network, which will add them to their programming loop. Such
co-operative ventures will, eventually, make shows like AWE wrestling
available to both their established fan base locally and nationwide to the
curious.
Another local promotion, T.C.W. Extreme Entertainment, also welcomes the
development of The Fight Network. Working in the relatively new field of mixed
martial arts, T.C.W. matchmaker Krzysztof Soszynski sees the network as a way
to both cultivate an audience and market his events. Busy preparing for their
upcoming Ultimate Cage Wars show at the convention centre this Saturday, Oct.
22, Soszynski feels educating fans to the athleticism, discipline and
sportsmanship of mixed martial arts can only help his sport grow locally and
nationally.
In this its early days, The Fight Network is an intriguing notion with a
legitimate chance to succeed if they are able to deliver a popular product and
do so long enough to develop an audience. The network is hoping to
cross-pollinate their existing fan base by getting loyal fans of one fighting
style interested in other types. They are also, of course, hoping to expand
beyond traditional parameters and bring combatant sports to a whole new
audience.
Winnipeg specifically and Canada in general has long been known as
"friendly" territory for pro wrestling promoters. Professional boxing, while
hardly a runaway success, has also developed a strong core of supporters. When
one further considers the growing support for MMA shows like Ultimate Cage
Wars it would seem likely that The Fight Network may indeed be an idea whose
time has come.
With any luck it will soon be an idea whose time has come here in Manitoba
too.
Gordon MacFarlane is a Winnipeg Sun columnist, and this column originally appeared in the Monday, October 17, 2005 newspaper.
