Montreal, Canada – Wednesday September 3, 2008 – TKO Championship Fighting is proud to announce the signature of a major television deal with the TQS television network. This is a huge achievement for the sport of mixed martial arts which will be seen on network television in Quebec for the very first time exposing a whole new audience to the sport. Beginning September 5th at 9pm, TQS will air “TKO, Friday night Knock-outs” every Friday night at 9pm! Thousands of new viewers will begin to appreciate the highly skilled TKO superstars and will discover an enthralling and spectacular new sport which to this point has been largely ignored by the mainstream media.
Stephane Patry, President and Founder of TKO Championship Fighting is elated with this fantastic news. “For over eight years I have been working very hard to make the public understand and appreciate our sport and our athletes,” explained Patry. “When we first started in 2000, our events were held in small venues and TKO was available on DVD and on specialty sport channels only. In 2006, TKO Championship Fighting found a new home at the Bell Centre and our fans began to multiply. Now, thanks to this partnership with the Rmillard brothers and the team at TQS I am confident that our sport will reach a whole new level of popularity which is exactly what the sport and our athletes deserve!”
“TKO, Friday night Knock-outs” fits perfectly into the new programming of TQS recently acquired by the Rmillard brothers (Maxime and Julien). In the next few months, TQS is poised to become the preferred alternative for traditional television network viewing. The addition of action packed, captivating mixed martial arts entertainment should significantly help bolster the revival of TQS! “TQS wishes to be branded as daring and innovating television,” stated Louis Trpanier, Vice-President of TQS Programming. “We strongly believe that TKO programming will be very popular with our viewers. We have a total of 44 episodes and it all begins this Friday September 5 at 9pm!”
ABOUT TKO: Founded in 2000 by Quebec resident, Stephane Patry, TKO produces five major mixed martial arts events per year. These events are supervised by the Rgie des Alcools, des courses et des juex of the Quebec province and have reached an exceptional level of popularity throughout North America in recent years. Recognized as a leader in the industry, TKO Championship Fighting has produced several athletes that have reached the pinnacle of the sport including champions such as Georges St-Pierre, Patrick Ct, Steve Vigneault, Mark Hominick and Sam Stout.
ABOUT TQS: Founded in 1986, the TQS network is one of the three major network television channels in the province of Quebec. It was recently acquired by brothers Julien and Maxime Rmillard. The network is known for its provocative, captivating and sometimes controversial content. Several programming presented to TQS marked the televisual history and, at the same time, created new standards. Acting as precursor since more than twenty years, TQS is the least traditional of all television networks in Quebec.
