Every sport is eventually faced with a period of transition between the time when it is more of a hobby or cult phenomenon and that moment when it goes mainstream and gains a widespread acceptance in the wider sporting community. Rapidly growing Sport Jiu-Jitsu has finally reached that point where the money is starting to flow into the sport and television has a lot to do with that.
Metamoris has been working hard to build a soup-to-nuts television operation that includes a growing list of monthly bouts that will form the backbone of their need for content on the new channel. Quite understandably, they wish to feature the top talent in the sport in these matches in order to create higher demand for the broadcasts.
This in turn has led them to pursue talent that is willing to consider contracts that grant Metamoris a large degree of exclusivity in showing the bouts of the athletes who sign with them. There are exceptions for high-prestige tournament action, but the general thrust of the business plan is to provide top quality fights by having all the best participants under contract.
Recently, however, one fighter has seen fit to refuse to sign an otherwise lucrative deal with the company. This has brought rising star Garry Tonon and the truth about exclusive contracts in Sport Jiu-Jitsu into immediate focus for the fans. While Metamoris obviously wants to build a strong brand on the basis of a first-mover advantage, it seems that Garry has elected to wait things out until there is more than one major player in the Sport Jiu-Jitsu television arena.
While he must forgo the very fair offer that is currently on the table, he does so in the hopes that the entry of a second player in the space will produce a bidding war for whatever talent remains unsigned. Stay tuned for more.
