CBS - CBS BRINGING MIXED MARTIAL ARTS TO SATURDAY SCHEDULE

CBS BRINGING MIXED MARTIAL ARTS TO SATURDAY SCHEDULE

Mixed martial arts, a sport some critics have described as excessively brutal but which nonetheless has been gaining in national popularity, will be coming to CBS in the form of four Saturday-night specials this spring, the network said Thursday. The network presumably hopes to rev up ratings for the night, which now trail those for every other night of the week -- not only for CBS but for all of the networks. CBS Entertainment executive Kelly Kahl told Reuters that the MMA events represent "low risk" for the network with "a potentially large reward." As for criticism of the sport's violent nature, Kahl noted that football and hockey also have "violent elements," adding, "If an injury does happen, we'll try to treat it as tactfully and tastefully as we can. But it's not something we're going to hype."

29/02/2008