Fite opens UK office, hires ITV’s Halabi as SVP of international business development

Ben Halabi

Combat sports platform Fite has announced the opening of a UK office.

The UK represents the second biggest and fastest-growing market for Fite after the US, and will serve as a permanent base for the company’s European operations.

Globally, the service reached 2.2 million registered users in 2019 and saw 300% growth of pay per view sales. 2019 also saw Fite extend its international footprint by six times year-over-year.

The company has also hired Ben Halabi as its SVP of international business development to lead the UK office.

Halabi joins from ITV, where he served as the head of ITV box office. During this time, Halabi has worked with clients like PBC, WBSS and professional wrestling upstart AEW. Halabi has also held roles at Channel 4 and CBS.

The company noted that the exec’s experience at ITV box office will serve as a benefit to Fite, with the majority of its content offerings being live pay per view events.

Halabi said: “The content world is changing rapidly. I see new sports opportunities opening up in the UK on a daily basis, and this is the optimal time to be joining an exciting digital platform like FITE. FITE has built a first-class scalable global platform and I can’t wait to contribute to the company’s expansion plans.”

Kosta Jordanov, CEO of FITE, said: “I’ve known and respected Ben for several years. He is the perfect executive to lead our UK expansion, and I am thrilled that he is joining our executive team. Ben’s experience, talent and mindset will be invaluable in our continued journey to help global fans discover and watch premium live events, and help programmers to distribute and monetise them.”