Thursday's announcement by ProElite that it had reached an agreement with CBS to televise four EliteXC events garnered a great deal of coverage in the mainstream press. And while we know a little more than we did when the initial report of the deal surfaced Wednesday, there still has not been a lot reported in regard to details pertaining to the deal.

On that note, I was able to speak with ProElite CEO Doug DeLuca, one of the main architects behind the deal, in an exclusive interview for ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com).

Sam Caplan: How long has this deal been in the works?

Doug DeLuca: I would say it was in the works for a couple of months, somewhere in that neighborhood. We've been talking on and off for awhile. You have to remember that CBS was the second group to invest in ProElite, almost a year and a half ago. They believed in us as they believed in MMA all the way back then. They made the investment in us and they decided to put us on their SHOWTIME networks. I think they were very smart and I think that both SHOWTIME and CBS were both very visionary in the sense they were interested in the sport, they were bullish on the sport, and they wanted to see how it would go. They liked what we had to say but we were unproven at the time but they believed enough to stick their toe in the water and invest in the company and puts us on SHOWTIME. We all know that has been a big success, and now this. I think they were very smart and calculated in their approach to it and it has worked out well.

Sam Caplan: You mentioned that these negotiations had gone on for several months. Was there a specific turning point in the negotiations that possibly made CBS even more interested in doing a deal?

Doug DeLuca: There's all kind of speculation. I would say the writers strike had a good hand in accelerating their idea to put it on the air. I think they see mixed martial arts and they get mixed martial arts. They're bullish on it. I think the opportunity arose to do the deal with us. They were talking to other people and were looking around and from what I understand were in talks with our competitor and that obviously didn't work out.

Sam Caplan: I know you can't divulge too many details because ProElite is a publicly traded company, but there are some conflicting reports I wanted to ask you about. MMAPayout.com reported that it is rumored the deal with CBS will be a time buy while Dave Meltzer reported on Yahoo! that there will be a rights fee involved. Is EliteXC getting a rights fee for the CBS telecasts?

Doug DeLuca: The latter was incorrect. This is a license-fee deal. We're getting a license-fee in order to put the show on the air. It's a typical TV license-fee deal.

Sam Caplan: Who controls the selling of the advertising and sponsorships?

Doug DeLuca: CBS ad sales will be controlling that for the most part. There is some carve out in there where we will control some of the sponsorships, but for the most part, CBS ad sales.

Sam Caplan: In December, MediaPost reported that CBS and the UFC were close to a deal. You've had an insider's perspective on these negotiations, do you feel those reports were accurate?

Doug DeLuca: Close is relative and I wasn't involved in the discussions so it's hard for me to say, but I believe they could be accurate, yes.

Sam Caplan: Some critics -- and I've been one of them -- have raised issues with EliteXC's use of a DJ, dancers, and some other aspects if the shows. Has CBS asked EliteXC to make any modifications to the product they will be presenting on network TV?

Doug DeLuca: The funny things is about this sport is that I think the critics are the five percent of the five percent people in the world. They are the hardcore MMA fans that only care about "this fighter's record" and "that fighter's record" and they've been so wrapped up in MMA that they can't see anything past it. CBS is very happy with our production, obviously -- they made a deal with us.

I think the DJ, and the dancers to some degree, and sometimes when we have popular musical artists perform in EliteXC, those are all enhancements to the live experience or to the production experience on television. It's the same thing as if the NFL has a band playing at half-time or the LA Lakers have the Laker girls come out during a commercial break. It's not a mainstay of the production. It's about the fights, the athletes, and the fighting, and that's what the fans are coming to watch but we don't think it hurts to have a little something extra there to raise the production and entertainment value.

I think that if you see anything different, it's going to be an even heightened level of the production value we already have because this is network television and we'll play in the world.

Sam Caplan: Can you give us any details in regards to who will be handling the TV production and have any decisions been made regarding announcers?

Doug DeLuca: No decision has been made as to announcers and as far as the television production goes we will hire someone who is mutually accepted and agreed upon by CBS and ProElite but there is a good chance we will be using the SHOWTIME production team to do the production.

Sam Caplan: Kevin Iole of Yahoo! reported that the first CBS show could take place in April in New Jersey and be headlined by Kimbo Slice. Is that a report that you feel is accurate?

Doug DeLuca: The first event will definitely take place in the spring sometime so late-April to May is probably accurate and we're looking at all major markets so the East Coast is definitely something we're looking at, but so is the West Coast. It's more for us about top ten media markets.

Sam Caplan: So is it premature to report that the first event will be in New Jersey?

Doug DeLuca: It's definitely premature. New Jersey is definitely something we're looking at, because counting New York, it's the number one media market in the world. But we're not locked in by any stretch of the imagination (and) we're still going through details and logistics.

Sam Caplan: Has Kimbo Slice been signed to a contract extension?

Doug DeLuca: To my knowledge we still have fights with him left on our contract and we have not signed a renewal but we're in the process.

Sam Caplan: Going into the negotiations with CBS, would you have described the prospective deal as a make of break for the company?

Doug DeLuca: No, I never would have considered it a "break" for us at all. We have a very methodical, slow and steady build to our brand and our league... We have a very global strategy. All of our brands are growing and moving forward. Between King of the Cage and ICON here in the States, and obviously EliteXC on SHOWTIME with ShoXC in there as well along with Cage Rage in London and Spirit MC and the other promotions we're going to create in various International markets, we have a very slow and steady build and business plan but a very strong and methodical one.

So CBS was not break, but certainly could be make depending on how it is received. We're going from an audience of SHOWTIME, which has a universe of between 15 and 20 million households and now you're jumping into a world where there is 100 million households. That's pretty amazing. That's a pretty far reach. It's a great day for MMA and its athletes and its fans.

Sam Caplan: The announcement itself has already brought the sport mainstream attention with extensive coverage on ESPN. I know you've been busy doing interviews all day. What other mainstream media outlets have contacted ProElite?

Doug DeLuca: Variety, Hollywood Reporter, LA Times, Reuters and Gary Shaw has been doing interviews all day. People are pretty excited about it.

Sam Caplan: What do you think this announcement mean for the sport?

Doug DeLuca: It means so much for our sport. It means so many things. Just to name a few, it means exposure for the sport and the athletes to a universally larger audience. Like I said, 100 million households on terrestrial, free television means anyone with a television of any kind can access this. So just from an exposure standpoint it means a lot for the sport. From a sponsorship and advertising standpoint, this will certainly put the sport in a much better light with sponsors and advertisers now that CBS, a major mainstream network, is behind this. It's going to break the dam wide open for sponsorship. As far as the fighters go, it's going to enable the fighters to get themselves more sponsorship and exposure and grow their brand.

I could keep going and extolling all the benefits to the sport but it's going to give us a chance to reach the mainstream and educate them more about the sport. Like the NFL did, they did an amazing job of teaching people how to watch football. We're going to do an amazing job with CBS of teaching people of how to watch mixed martial arts. That's just going to grow an amazing fanbase. It should do a phenomenal amount for the sport.

Sam Caplan: You mentioned the dam breaking for sponsors. Do you think the dam has also broken for other networks to get involved with other MMA promotions as well?

Doug DeLuca: It would certainly stand to reason, wouldn't it? I was just not out talking to CBS. I was out talking with our partner, Mark Burnett, at all the networks. We met with all the networks. I think all the networks had interest. All the networks could not deny the impact of mixed martial arts at this point in time. I just don't think any of the networks had the same vision or the same guts, if you will, to pull the trigger at this time. So again, I think SHOWTIME and CBS were visionary and they really took the lead here.

Sam Caplan: What's your reaction to the UFC's announcement that they've entered into a three-year sponsorship agreement with Anheuser-Busch?

Doug DeLuca: I love it. It's great. Again, it's great for the sport and it's great for us. It just opens up a whole new realm so I think it's fantastic.

Sam Caplan: I asked you off the record about what this kind of mainstream exposure could do for Kimbo. Outside of Kimbo, who are some other fighters on the EliteXC roster that you believe could flourish on network TV?

Doug DeLuca: I think a lot of the fighters we have already are high-profile fighters in the eyes of MMA fans. What I said was, this is going to build their stars far beyond the MMA world and into the mainstream fan world. This is going to do wonders for the likes of whoever we put on CBS. It's going to do wonders for Frank Shamrock, K.J. Noons, Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, Antonio Silva, Gina Carano, and you name it. Name any of our top fighters. And I'm leaving people out.

We may actually have deeper roster than the UFC does when it comes to the shear number of fighters that we have under contract. Remember, we have six brands around the world right now. It's going to really pay dividends for them in a big way.

Sam Caplan: You mentioned the six brands under the ProElite label and some of those brands are International in nature. How does the CBS deal affect International brands such as Cage Rage and Spirit MC?

Doug DeLuca: The CBS deal is going to impact MMA globally, period. You're seeing the pick up it is getting now just here in the States and that is going to spill over to all International markets. It's really going to raise people's awareness between print publications and TV and radio covering this story and then covering the events on CBS. It's just going to raise the awareness of MMA throughout the world. And the fact that it is EliteXC that is putting on those events, it's going to raise the awareness for EliteXC and its parent company ProElite around the world. What that means for us and all of our other brands is that there's going to be a residual effect for all of our other brands from King of the Cage, to ICON, to Cage Rage, and Spirit MC, it really puts all of our brands and our global vision on a different platform to show the world what we have and what we're going to do and how we're going to shape the future of mixed martial arts. It's an exciting thing.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com