Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dmario]

http://www.blackbelt.tv

From the release:
(Los Angeles, CA) The producers of the "Mortal Kombat" feature film franchise, one of the biggest and best-known martial arts franchises of all-time, today announced Black Belt TV, the first and only 24-hour Martial Arts Entertainment Cable Network devoted entirely to serving the hundreds of millions of martial arts entertainment fans throughout the world.

With a management team comprised of leading cable executives, Blackbelt TV has assembled the largest martial arts entertainment and sports library in the world from leading worldwide fight organizations and Hollywood studios including Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Totaling nearly 15,000 hours, the library consists of some of the greatest martial arts films of all times including "Enter the Dragon," "Once Upon A Time in China," "The Karate Kid," "Drunken Master," "Double Impact," "Out For Justice"; classic and new martial arts television series such as "Kung Fu" and "Mortal Kombat Conquest"; fights from all over the world including World Championship Kickboxing from Thailand, Mixed Martial Arts from Japan, Boxing from Europe and the U.S., Judo from Korea; Japanese animation; health, fitness and self defense programming as well as original shows like "Soul of the Champion."

Blackbelt TV is working directly with the biggest Hollywood Studios to bring the best martial arts films and TV shows to its new home on television. Blackbelt TV has entered into exclusive licenses within the martial arts genre with two of the top providers of martial arts entertainment in the U.S., Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Blackbelt TV will also import films and television programming from all over the globe including some of the largest Asian film libraries in the world. Despite being considered cult classics, many of these martial arts films have never before appeared on domestic television. Blackbelt TV's programming unites the biggest celebrities in martial arts entertainment including Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Chuck Norris, Chow Yun Fat, Steven Seagal, Sammo Hung, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Yuen Woo Ping of Matrix fame.

In addition to the greatest martial arts films and TV shows of all time, Blackbelt TV has entered into exclusive relationships with leading promoters of championship fights and martial arts competitions from around the globe. Blackbelt TV viewers will enjoy world championship bouts that have never before aired on US television from countries such as China, India, Japan, Russia, Europe, Korea and Thailand. For example, Blackbelt TV will show world championship Judo bouts directly from the International Judo Federation in Korea; explosive kickboxing from the US, China and India via the World Championship Kickboxing; the fury of Muay Thai Kickboxing directly from Thai Stadiums in Thailand; the fighting spectacle called K-1, the number one martial arts kickboxing tournament originated in Japan with tournaments held in Tokyo, Europe, Latin America, Australia and the U.S.; top rank boxing from England's World Boxing Federation; and Karate from the USA World Championships, the largest Karate tournament in the U.S.

Blackbelt TV programs and events will have a look unlike anything on television today. Blackbelt's on-air look and feel will be created by its sister company Threshold Digital Research Labs (TDRL), one of Hollywood's leading digital animation and visual effects companies whose technology alliance is with IBM. The feature film quality bumpers, interstitials and Network IDs will be created by the same digital wizards that produce special effects, theme-park attractions, and animation for MGM, Miramax, Paramount and others. Blackbelt TV will be hosted by gorgeous female "Fight Jocks" who will provide humorous, sexy and no holds barred interstitial commentary.

Blackbelt TV chairman, Larry Kasanoff, announced the network adding, "Martial arts has permeated our pop-culture today. You can see outstanding martial arts sequences in virtually every blockbuster film and hit TV show today from "Charlie's Angels" to "Star Wars." Despite the millions of practicing martial artists, the tens of millions of fight fans and the hundreds of millions of action enthusiasts around the world, there is no one entity dedicated to these fans. Blackbelt TV is a lifestyle brand for the 18-34 old male that will become the one authority for all martial arts entertainment just as MTV has for music and Discovery for learning."

"I'm very pleased that we will be providing programming for the launch of Blackbelt TV," said Eric Frankel, President, Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution. "Our library contains some of the world's premiere martial arts series and features that are sure to be solid hits with Blackbelt's viewers."

The network will generate additional forms of revenue by tapping into the billion dollar martial arts ancillary markets through its Blackbelt TV Network Enterprises Division. The division is responsible for developing Blackbelt TV branded home video/DVD, music, video games, apparel, toys, interactive television, on-line and off-line gaming, martial arts instruction and a line of health, fitness and self-defense products.

Primary investors in Blackbelt TV include Threshold Entertainment, Fusient Media Ventures, and Sirius Investment Corp.

Blackbelt TV is headed by leading entertainment and cable executives with established track records in starting new enterprises and producing successful branded, mainstream properties. Together their credits include blockbuster feature films like "True Lies" and "Mortal Kombat"; hit TV shows like "Babylon 5"; technology breakthroughs like the first digital movie and digitally recorded score; theme park attractions like "King Kong," "Robocop" and "Earthquake"; studio experience including Sony, Disney and Vestron; and cable TV experience including BET, VH-1, Animax, Sony Entertainment Television, Discovery Networks, and AXN.

[Chris Piers]

Well I'll never leave my living room again. I hope they show reruns of that old show Superstars, it was a really cheesy martial arts equivalent of WWF.

[Phil Clark]

I have been waiting for this for YEARS! Bring it on. I am ready to go for my couch potato black belt.

[Inkthinker]

I wonder if they'll be airing unedited K1 or Pride tournaments... those can get pretty damn brutal. I saw Don Frye (Tom Selleck lookalike) literally pound a man's face to ruin in a recent match... no real martial arts flair or particular style, just two huge guys, each holding the back of their opponent's head with their left while pounding away as fast as possible with the right... pretty vicious, and definitley NOT for the kiddies.

[Chris Piers]

If it morphs into all sorts of fighting, I wouldn't mind if they added some wrestling.

[Devilman]

Originally posted by Inkthinker
I wonder if they'll be airing unedited K1 or Pride tournaments... those can get pretty damn brutal. I saw Don Frye (Tom Selleck lookalike) literally pound a man's face to ruin in a recent match... no real martial arts flair or particular style, just two huge guys, each holding the back of their opponent's head with their left while pounding away as fast as possible with the right... pretty vicious, and definitley NOT for the kiddies.

good man with good taste.

[Inkthinker]

He's a scary man, that Frye... talk about someone who WILL kick your ass, no two ways about it. I don't know how he did it, but his opponent (wish I could remember his name... huge Asian guy, reminded me of Bolo Yueng) must have hit Frye right in the face about two dozen times during each of their two little pounding contests, but in the end Frye was a bit bruised and bloody, whereas his opponent literally had a flattened face and looked like he was wearing warpaint, there was so much blood. Frye seriously went straight for the nose...

Anyhow, I somehow doubt they'll air unedited violence in it's purest form. Then again...

[Jedmo9000]

they'd first have to get the rights since pride is a pay-per-view organization. It would probably be easier for them to get UFC matches since UFC is headed towards free tv exposure (recently on fox sports' Best Damn Sports Show Period). Sounds like a cool network. Incidentally, I met Don Frye. He's actually a helluva nice guy. Pretty funny too. He's also a beast because he's one of the oldest guys out there actively fighting and hes good too. Im a huge MMA (mixed martial arts) fan. Been watching the UFC since it started. By the way, Pro Wrestling is much more violent than MMA regardless of the "fake" factor. It portrays violence in a much more casual way. MMA fights are carefully refereed and stopped at appropriate times (serious cuts, knock outs, opponent unable to defend himself). Boxing, in my opinion is also much more brutal than MMA (constantly being allowed to get back up even when if they're totally out of it, repeated blows to the head). Sorry to get off on a tangent like that but I think the sport gets a bad deal with the public and the promoters have really worked hard to bring it from like an "underground" sport. This kind of thing is HUGE in Japan. Here its kind of looked down on and thats a shame.

[Krosis]

I'm not a big Martial Arts fan though I do LOve Jackie Chan movies.. if I can get all his movies on tape because of this new channel.. then I'll be one happy JC fan..

how about fencing? I fenced for 8 yrs in high school and college.. it's a Martial Art.. just not eastern..

-cheers

[The unknown artist]

there needs to be an all Anime channel....