On October 18th in Köln, Germany, OKTAGON MMA will host their thirteenth event of the year, but this card may be one of the most pivotal events in the promotions history. For the first time since the Klitschko brothers dominated boxing, a combat sports will be aired live on German cable television. This event is loaded with German stars such as Alina Dalaslan and Christian Eckerlin, with OKTAGON hoping they can reach an entire new demographic through household television.
OKTAGON’s relationship with RTL, the top streaming and television company in Germany has gone exceedingly well over the past year. RTL+ is the German home of OKTAGON, a subscription based service similar to ESPN+ or Hulu in the United States. OKTAGON has already managed to grow their reach extensively through this partnership, evident through the massive German events that continue to sell out. RTL+ serves roughly 6 million subscribers, but the number of German household televisions with cable access is estimated to be upwards of 40 million, meaning this is a fantastic opportunity for OKTAGON to grow even further.
The card itself features multiple top talents hailing from Germany, with many up and coming prospects opening the show. Atop the card, the King of Germany Christian Eckerlin faces the veteran Ivica Trušček. In the co-main event, rising star Alina Dalaslan faces fellow German Katharina Lehner. Also on the card, the rising star Tamerlan Dulatov returns, as well as Arijan Topallaj looks to right the wrongs of his last fight. While the German fans will be cheering for these fighters, there is no doubt that every athlete competing understands just how massive of an opportunity this event is.
With OKTAGON continuing to make smart strategic moves both with media and promotion, it is no surprise that they have earned the right to be the first combat sport aired on RTL+ in over 15 years. For those in Germany, you can watch this groundbreaking event on RTL and RTL+, and global viewers can watch the card via OKTAGON.tv.
