Rich Davie
09-22-2009, 04:43 PM
Kelly Kahl, CBS Executive, Discusses MMA's Return to Network Television
Posted Sep 18, 2009 7:31AM
By Ariel Helwani
Thursday's announcement that the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers Strikeforce card will air live on CBS caught many people by surprise, as most expected the event would be shown on Showtime.
FanHouse spoke to Kelly Kahl, senior executive vice president of primetime programming for CBS, about how this decision came about and whether he thinks the UFC will counter-program the telecast. The full interview is below.
Ariel Helwani: How did this decision come about?
Kelly Kahl: Well, we had a deal with Strikeforce for some time. When they did a deal with Showtime, CBS had a deal in place, as well, and we always kept the door open. We were just kind of waiting for the right place, right time and right talent. And once Fedor was signed, that certainly looked to us as a great way to jump back into MMA on network TV. And talking to our partners at Strikeforce and Showtime, we were able to put a fight together and we're very excited to get back on the air.
How do you juggle satisfying CBS and Showtime's needs in a situation like this because Showtime clearly has a lot invested in Fedor?
Continued here... (http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/09/18/kelly-kahl-cbs-executive-discusses-mmas-return-to-network-tel/)
Posted Sep 18, 2009 7:31AM
By Ariel Helwani
Thursday's announcement that the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers Strikeforce card will air live on CBS caught many people by surprise, as most expected the event would be shown on Showtime.
FanHouse spoke to Kelly Kahl, senior executive vice president of primetime programming for CBS, about how this decision came about and whether he thinks the UFC will counter-program the telecast. The full interview is below.
Ariel Helwani: How did this decision come about?
Kelly Kahl: Well, we had a deal with Strikeforce for some time. When they did a deal with Showtime, CBS had a deal in place, as well, and we always kept the door open. We were just kind of waiting for the right place, right time and right talent. And once Fedor was signed, that certainly looked to us as a great way to jump back into MMA on network TV. And talking to our partners at Strikeforce and Showtime, we were able to put a fight together and we're very excited to get back on the air.
How do you juggle satisfying CBS and Showtime's needs in a situation like this because Showtime clearly has a lot invested in Fedor?
Continued here... (http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/09/18/kelly-kahl-cbs-executive-discusses-mmas-return-to-network-tel/)