Spike UK Scores U.S. BattleBots Revival

LONDON: Spike UK has snapped up the exclusive rights for ABC’s reboot of BattleBots from Sky Vision following a bidding war for the U.K. rights to the hit entertainment series.

BattleBots looks on as homemade robots compete against each other in a bullet-proof arena. Spike UK will begin airing the series this summer and will share the U.K. rights with sister network Channel 5 as part of a multi-season agreement. The show, currently airing in its second season on ABC in the U.S., has now been sold into more than 100 territories since its launch at MIPTV earlier this year. It is produced by Whalerock Industries and BattleBots Inc.

BattleBots was created by cousins Trey Roski and Greg Munson, who won the first Robot Wars UK competition in 1995.

Anna-Belen Dunlop, Spike’s acquisitions and channel manager at Channel 5, said: “BattleBots is boisterous, fun and hugely entertaining, and we are thrilled to be delivering more new and exclusive content to our Spike audience.”

Tom Gutteridge, the executive producer in charge of the global rollout of the BattleBots brand, noted: “We are very glad we appointed Sky Vision to handle the distribution of the series. In just three months they have pretty much achieved the goal we set them—of getting the BattleBots brand known around the entire world. The second season has launched to huge acclaim and great ratings in the U.S., and now we’re implementing the next stage of the rollout—merchandising deals to accompany the broadcast sales, and international versions of the show to run alongside the 2017 U.S. series. We’re absolutely thrilled about the Spike UK deal. It’s just the right fit for the show.”

Roski stated: “Robotic combat fans throughout the U.K. will be very excited to see BattleBots, the world’s largest and only professional, robot-fighting sport on their screens. They’ll also see the very best robots from the U.K. and across the globe competing against the world’s strongest in some truly amazing battles.”

Leona Connell, the director of sales at Sky Vision, added: “We are thrilled not only to have made so many deals in such a short time, but also to have sold BattleBots to such great partners. Buyers are reacting swiftly and decisively with offers, and the Spike UK deal is testament to the mainstream prime-time appeal of the show.”