Engine Sells MMA Fare

Engine Sells MMA Fare

By Kristin Brzoznowski

Published: September 28, 2010

LOS ANGELES: Engine Entertainment has notched up new deals for the mixed martial arts Bellator Fighting Championships with broadcasters in Australia, Mexico, France, Finland, Southeast Asia and Africa.

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Bellator is a style of MMA that allows fighters to control their own destiny by eliminating the subjectivity of matchmaking, and replicating the objectivity of virtually every other professional sport. The fighting program has been licensed to Foxtel Main Event in Australia, MVS Multi Vision channels in Mexico, AB Media channels in France, Channel 4/Nelonen in Finland, KIX and THRILL in Southeast Asia, and to Setanta for its channels in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Bellator is also available to Internet viewers in Japan, and Engine is in discussions with free-to-air terrestrial broadcasters, pay-per-view and VOD platforms and mobile services worldwide. Bellator, currently in its third season, airs on Fox Sports Net in the U.S. and The Score in Canada.

“Bellator’s popularity and impressive ratings in the U.S. are being noticed on a global scale, its demand from the MMA purists is traveling fast, and the production quality, along with the added value in each event, is attracting broadcasters worldwide,” said Engine Entertainment’s CEO, Chris Philip.

Tribune Picks Up 'Pt. Dume' For Weekends

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/457411-Tribune_Picks_Up_Pt_Dume_For_Weekends.php

First-run weekly hour to premiere fall 2011

By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/21/2010 3:20:19 PM

Tribune Television has picked up Pt. Dume, a new weekly hour from Twentieth Television, to premiere on Saturday nights on its stations next fall. With the Tribune sale, the series is sold in 30% of the country.

"Now that our CW stations are offering five nights per week of original programming, we are looking to add a 6^th night. Pt. Dume is the perfect complement to our existing prime line-up," said Sean Compton, Tribune's president of programming, in a statement.

Pt. Dume, about a group of troubled teenagers who are involved in a unique and intense detention program, is created and will be executive produced by Gregory Bonann, who created Baywatch, one of the most successful hours in syndication history. Twentieth Television, Engine Entertainment and QED have partnered on the series, with Twentieth Television handling domestic distribution and Engine handling international distribution. The project was packaged by Paradigm, with Michael Gendler brokering the deal.

Pt. Dume is the first first-run weekly hour to be produced for syndication since Disney-ABC introduced Legend of the Seeker in 2008. The Tribune stations also first cleared that show, which Tribune declined to renew in March.

Engine Launches New U.S. Action Series from Baywatch Creator

http://www.worldscreen.com/articles/display/27017

Engine Launches New U.S. Action Series from Baywatch Creator

By Kristin Brzoznowski

Published: September 21, 2010

LOS ANGELES: Engine Entertainment has entered into a partnership with Twentieth Television and QED International for the new U.S. syndicated seriesPt Dume, from Baywatch creator Gregory Bonann.

Engine will handle the worldwide distribution outside of the U.S., and will be looking for presales for the series at MIPCOM. Bonann will also attend of behalf of the series. Twentieth Television is handling the U.S. distribution, and has sold the series Tribune Broadcasting Stations in the top ten markets.

Co-created by Bonann, who also serves as executive producer, the series is set at Pt Dume, a secluded beach on Malibu's shoreline. The show follows a group of teenagers who, for varying reasons, are now facing expulsion at their school for their potentially life-changing mistake. Three heroes—a lifeguard, a firefighter and a U.S. coastguard—have created a unique detention program in attempt to turn their lives around.

“Pt Dume marks the return of a significant winning formula for which there is always a demand internationally,” commented Chris Philip, the chief executive of Engine Entertainment. “It’s the perfect team to ensure a successful global rollout and we are thrilled to be part of it.”

“I could not be more excited about my return to the beach to tell stories with life and death stakes,” commented Bonann. “The show is about young reluctant heroes at a crossroads—their next steps will change their lives…one way or the other.”

Bellator Fighting Championships Signs Undefeated Serbian Middleweight Dragan “Gagi” Tesanovic

CHICAGO, Ill. (August 18, 2010) - Top European Middleweight prospect Dragan "Gagi" Tesanovic has officially been added to the Bellator Fighting Championships roster.

Tesanovic brings a perfect 7-0 record to the promotion with five wins coming via TKO or KO. Tesanovic regularly displays a dangerous clinch game and very technical ground skills.

One of the fastest rising prospects at 185 lbs, Tesanovic was recently named one of the top ten European prospects.

"Dragan Tesanovic has tremendous potential to become a dominant middleweight," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "His diverse training regime and quickly progressing skill-set set the table for him to make substantial impact in our 185 division.

Although he only has four years of formal MMA training under his belt, Tesanovic has yet to taste defeat in the cage. Before getting into MMA Tesanovic regularly participated in Serbian submission fighting competitions of which he holds five-first-place finishes.

The Serbian standout also holds an impressive win over Polish Judo fighter Antoni Chmielewski.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/Bellator.

Bellator Season 3 Underway with Electrifying Night of Fights at Bellator 24 in Hollywood, Fla.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (August 12, 2010) - Bellator Fighting Championships kicked off its highly anticipated third season tonight in front of a boisterous crowd at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Once again fans were treated to a full card of electrifying fights that included shocking finishes in nearly every fight.
In the night's main event Bellator Middleweight Cham

pion Hector Lombard took on former NFL player Whisper Goodman in a non-title Super Fight. In his last outing Lombard needed just six seconds to KO his opponent, this time it took only 38 seconds. Lombard overwhelmed his opponent early with right hook that wobbled Goodman before following up with a brutal flurry that left Whisper unconscious on the canvas just 38 seconds into round one.

When asked about his ability to take opponents out early Lombard stated," I train hard, I train hard every day as hard I can."

"I'm a knock-out artist, this is what I do"

Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney echoed his previous sentiment about Bellator's Middleweight Champion.

"I think Hector Lombard is the best middleweight in the world. I believe he beats anybody he steps in the cage with," said Rebney.

In an opening round World Heavyweight Tournament fight British knockout artist Neil "The Goliath" Grove took on UFC Veteran Eddie Sanchez. Grove's striking skills were on display early when he connected with a devastating left hand that sent Sanchez to the canvas. Grove followed up with brutal ground and pound before eventually letting a weary Sanchez back to his feat. Standing, Grove continued to batter Sanchez with precise strikes that eventually forced the referee to halt the fight less than a minute into the opening round.

.In Season 3 Women's Tournament quarterfinal action, female pound-for-pound queen Megumi Fujii met late tournament replacement Carla Esparza. Fujii elected to stand and trade early with the wrestling specialist. The fight hit the ground for the first time midway through the first round with "Mega Megu" going for an ankle lock that Esparza painstakingly twisted out of. Round 2 saw Fujii bring Esparza down early and secure a slick fight ending arm-bar just 57 seconds into round 2 with the Japanese sensation again flexing her submission skills and subsequently improving her record to 21-0 while moving on to the Semi-final round of the tournament.
Also in Women's Tournament action South Florida native Jessica Aguilar took on Lynn "Lights Out" Alvarez. Aguilar easily took Alvarez down early in the first round where she transitioned between ground and pound and submission attempts while in side guard. Aguilar was eventually able to secure an Arm Triangle Choke at 4:01 into the first round.

."Winning in front of my fans is all I could ask for," said Aguilar. "I was planning to finishing it as quickly as possible with little energy expended and no injuries."

The Local Feature Fight between hometown favorite Luis "Baboon" Palomino and dangerous MMA veteran Yves Edwards proved to be an entertaining match-up with back and forth action that left Edwards with his hand raised after three rounds. Edwards now holds an astounding 38 wins in his MMA career.
"Tonight proved to be another great night of fights at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. We love coming here and can not wait for our return in October when Hector Lombard will face Alexander Shlemenko for the Bellator Middleweight Championship," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.
You can catch Bellator 24 action-packed highlight shows on NBC late Saturday nights.

Local Feature Fights:
Tulio Quintanilla def. Brian Eckstein - KO (Punches) 2:48 - Round 3
Farkhad Sharipov def. Eric Luke - Unanimous Decision

About Bellator Fighting Championships:
:Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator's founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships' executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

Video Interview: Engine Entertainment's Michel Rodrigue

Video Interview: Engine Entertainment's Michel Rodrigue

Published: July 7, 2010

NEW YORK: Michel Rodrigue, who serves as a distribution consultant for Engine Entertainment's format division, talks in this video interview about the global appeal of the interactive format Thumb Wars and how its use of technology lends itself to built-in advertising, sponsorship and digital integration.

Engine Entertainment recently announced its first pickups for Thumb Wars, with Spain's Zebra Produccionnes and France's Rosnay International now on board. The interactive game show involves smart-phone technology to drive the action, as contestants use apps to receive clues on their quest to find hidden treasure. In each stand-alone episode, four new teams set out on a day-long adventure. The journey takes them to historically relevant locations, making the format easily adaptable for all markets. Engine Entertainment, which was recently launched by former Power exec Chris Philip, is taking the format worldwide, and is co-producing the project alongside Ben Silverman's Electus for the U.S.

Thumb Wars Picked Up in Spain, France

By Kristin Brzoznowski
Published: June 24, 2010
Wordscreen.com

LOS ANGELES: Spain’s Zebra Produccionnes and France’s Rosnay International have signed up for the interactive format Thumb Wars from Engine Entertainment.

Zebra and Rosnay will package the format for their respective markets to involve TV networks, advertising, sponsorship and digital integration. The interactive game show involves Smart Phone technology to drive the game. Contestants use apps to receive clues for their quest to find hidden treasure. In each stand-alone episode, four teams set off on a day-long adventure. The journey takes them to historically relevant locations across the country.

“The demand for Thumb Wars has been remarkable and its unique content with natural product integration means our partners must be able to package creatively,” said Michel Rodrigue, format distribution consultant at Engine. "Both partners we have chosen in France and Spain offer this ability."

The format was originally created and produced by Stimulii and broadcast on SABC in South Africa. Engine, recently launched by Chris Philip, handles worldwide distribution for Thumb Wars, and is co-producing the project alongside Ben Silverman’s Electus for the U.S.