The entire landscape of mixed martial arts changed today. Maybe.

The announcement that CBS will broadcast live Elite XC shows on Saturday nights in prime time is potentially the biggest deal in the history of the sport in North America.

But no matter what is said about a multi-year commitment and four shows per year, when it comes to television, like everything, it will live and die by the ratings.

“The sport of MMA airing on CBS is the single biggest thing to happen to the sport,” said Elite XC promoter Gary Shaw. That sounds like a promoter over hyping his latest announcement, but if the show is successful, that’s exactly what it will be. more info.

ProElite, Inc. and the CBS Television Network on Feb. 28 announced a multi-year agreement to bring mixed martial arts to the broadcast network. CBS will broadcast four MMA events per year, produced by ProElite's EliteXC fight division, as two-hour live primetime specials targeted for Saturday nights.

The agreement augments an existing relationship between CBS Corporation and ProElite, which began broadcasting its EliteXC live MMA events on CBS's Showtime premium cable network in 2007. EliteXC events will continue to air on Showtime. more info.

Sumner Redstone, the chairman of CBS, had harsh words for Les Moonves on Wednesday, saying the chief executive of the media group “made a mistake” in agreeing to broadcast the mixed martial arts event.

CBS will this month become the first US television network to broadcast an Elite XC event, with the violent mixed martial arts sport previously confined to cable networks, where it has spiralled in popularity and attracted audiences that rival mainstream US sports. more info.

CBS chairman Sumner Redstone has questioned the decision of Les Moonves, the network's chief executive, to air a mixed martial arts event.

Moonves gave the go ahead for an MMA Elite XC competition to be broadcast in primetime this month.

The sport, commonly known as cage fighting, is particularly violent and has been criticised by medical groups. It has been outlawed in some states in the past, and fighters are now banned from extreme practices such as biting and eye gouging. more info.