Cinedigm and JungoTV add Karate Combat Content to COMBAT GO Programming Lineup

Cinedigm (NASDAQ; CIDM), JungoTV and Karate Combat announced a distribution deal today, putting the new professional martial arts league's content on COMBAT GO, the freshly-launched global martial arts digital-first network. With this deal, Karate Combat's landmark league takes karate into the mainstream with action-packed, full contact rules and a patented fighting pit that provides dynamic cinematic views.

COMBAT GO is a first-of-its-kind 24/7 mixed martial arts channel on the popular Twitch (twitch.tv/COMBATGO) live streaming video platform, bringing together the top promotions in the world today and putting the spotlight on a diverse roster of popular fighting styles. COMBAT GO is the brainchild of media executive and former Crunchyroll Chief Content Officer George Chung, who is a five-time former World Karate Champion and Inductee in the Black Belt Hall of Fame. As JungoTV CEO, Chung combines his impressive martial arts background with his extensive knowledge of and passion for international media.

"COMBAT GO is assembling the finest lineup of combat sports available," said Michael DePietro, CEO of Karate Combat. "Their vision is in tune with Karate Combat's mission to address the changing ways that fans consume sports. It's a perfect partnership for delivering the most action-packed, innovative, and diverse take on karate the world has ever seen."

"The addition of Karate Contact's pro league content to COMBAT GO's programming lineup reiterates our commitment to showcase and highlight the best martial arts competitions occurring in the world today," said Chung, CEO of JungoTV. "As a life-long participant and ambassador for the sport, I am excited to be able to stream Karate Combat's action and bring it to a larger portion of the mainstream audience."

Although the partnership begins officially today, COMBAT GO soft-launched an encore stream last Saturday of Karate Combat: Inception-the league's first U.S event-to an impressive viewership on Twitch. Karate Combat: Inception was announced by Karate expert and former MMA star Bas Rutten, and former Bellator announcer Sean Wheelock. The Main Event was Elhadji "Black Magic" Ndour (USA) v Andras Virag (Hungary). Other main card fights included Josh Quayhagen (USA) v Abdalla Ibrahim (USA), and Alexandre Bouderbane (France) v Dionicio Gustavo (Dominican Republic). Additional fighters included Adham Sabry (USA), Pedro Roman (Spain), Spyros Margaritopoulos (Greece), Jerome Brown (UK) and Abdou Lahad Cisse (France).

Just three weeks since its launch, Karate Combat has received worldwide attention with many fighters around the world lining up to apply; league rules being debated on podcasts and blogs; and insightful features in Sports Illustrated, BBC Sportshour, CNN, USA Today, Vice Sports, HK01, SB Nation, Sherdog and Ouest France. Bas Rutten and Chuck Liddell serve as advisors and ambassadors for Karate Combat, and Rutten's legendary appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on April 10 quickly became one of the most popular MMA-themed episodes of the series. Karate Combat's new full contact rules will change how the public looks at the art form, and the creation of a mainstream pro league with cinematic production values will return the martial art to its rightful place as an important global sport.

For more information about COMBAT GO, please contact: Cindy Ronzoni, cronzoni(at)cinedigm.com

For more information about Karate Contact, please contact: Owen Phillips, owen(at)karate.com

About COMBAT GO:
COMBAT GO is a 24/7mixed martial arts streaming channel on Twitch (twitchtv.com/COMBAT GO) which brings together top global MMA, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and traditional Asian martial arts promotions. COMBAT GO's lineup caters to the underserved global martial arts combat market with premium programming, fight commentary and analysis, original docuseries, martial arts movies and live World Championships. COMBAT GO is the brainchild of media executive George Chung, who is a five-time former World Karate Champion and Inductee in the Black Belt Hall of Fame. As JungoTV CEO, Chung combines his impressive martial arts background with his extensive knowledge of and passion for international media. For more information, visit http://www.combatgotv.com.

About Karate Combat
Karate Combat is a premier Karate brand which operates a professional full contact karate league, sports equipment business, and worldwide Dojo network. The Company seeks to evolve the traditional sport of Karate via KARATE.com, the World's Gateway to Karate, and branded mobile apps. The firm is headquartered in New York City with satellite offices in Calabasas, CA and Budapest. For more information visit http://www.karate.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.