With the Mega Cage, RED Network takes advantage of Pentex’s private prison network to stage vicious no-holds barred cage fights between inmates and broadcasts them pay-per-view. Several anti-violence and civil liber-ties groups have strongly protested the practice but RED Network has so far benefited from the free publicity — in no small part by ensuring its own news channels provide

selective and skewed coverage of the protest campaigns. The protests give Mega Cage the perfect opportunity to unleash well-respected (and well-paid) mental health experts who provide opinion on how fights provide much needed relief to prisoners, and how the controlled and sanctioned bouts correlate with a decrease in random prison violence. Whistle-blower statements attribute the decreases to under-reporting and that, in truth, the prison environment has worsened since the advent of Mega Cage. These anonymous claims remain unverified and denied.

Participation in Mega Cage is strictly voluntary — but prison administrators have many ways to coerce participation, especially if the inmate is notorious. Troublemakers also find themselves with little choice but to ‘volunteer’ — they soon learn to fall in line if they want to survive.

Despite the controversy — or because of it — Mega Cage is a financial and ratings success. That some of the more successful fighters prove themselves suitable for First Team recruitment is an added bonus.