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Report: CBS First To Put MMA On Network TV

CBS is turning to pay cable net Showtime for programming again, this time in a deal with mixed martial arts promoter ProElite that will bring the sport -- the fastest-growing in the country -- to broadcast TV for the first time. According to the mixed martial arts site MMAjunkie, ProElite -- which partnered in 2006 with Showtime to create the Elite Xtreme Combat -- will now create events for CBS to air in prime time every other month.

The deal could be announced next week, although neither CBS nor Showtime execs are talking yet. If the deal goes through, it would be the second time this year the Tiffany Network has gone to Showtime for prime time content, as it is currently running edited episodes of the channel's "Dexter," which pulled an average 6.5 million viewers in its second showing last Sunday against ABC's Academy Awards telecast, down form the 8.1 million of its Feb. 17 debut.

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