Dana White Predicts UFC Future Without Pay-Per-View
“Yeah, I do believe there will be a day when there probably isn’t pay-per-view. With this Fox exposure, we’re only a few months into this deal, but yeah, as we continue to put on shows and showcase talent over the next several years, the fan base is going to grow bigger and bigger and bigger.”
While fielding questions from the fans and media at last week’s UFC on FOX 3 pre-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White said he does believe in a UFC future on Free TV.
Currently the UFC is broadcast for free in most of its markets, however in the US and Canada we are forced to buy most of the UFC events via PPV. As the sport continues to grow, White believes their programming options will too evolve?
Good news right?
Read More: Dana White (News), UFC, Mixed Martial Arts
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I like the UFC, but what causes it to grow are the particular fighters involved. GSP, Brock, Bisping, Chael, Faber etc… Research has shown ppv numbers are much lower when they are not on a card. ppl want to see character as well as exciting fights. Edgar’s main events don’t produce much.
that’s because most of mma fans love nothing more about the sport than the beatings and blood shed. frankie has the heart of a warrior and is a solid fighter in terms of wrestiling and striking. i’d pay to see an edgar fight anyday but most people won’t cuz they aren’t fans of “MMA”
Amen I’m getting sick of people who saw one fight/free event and think they’re experts – I may not like Jon Fitch but I love great technical fights, a good war is just as good as a K.O.
I agree completely. For someone who does not enjoy a good technical fight they can get pretty bored, which is understandable if someone doesn’t understand the chess match that MMA can be. There are some really good technical fighters that are also exciting, Clay Guida, for example, is a great example of a fighter who is as exciting in a technical fight as he is in a first round knockout, but it’s because the average MMA fan sees him constantly working while in the ring. There is never really a pause in his fights.
Dana and company has learned the lesson by escalating boxing PPV prices. You price out poor and younger fans, and your sport stops growing as you leech on people who already are die hard fans willing to part with money. There’s a reason why UFC built a following after TUF.
The goal should be professional wrestling where there is free available content all year, but with a major pay per view each quarter. That way you keep your giant following, get the big ratings/advertising dollars, and still get the pay days for the top tier fighters.
This guy must be a marketing major. I was gonna say something like that.
a former attorney… getting masters in finance… no marketing… just common dollars and sense
i like it. maybe have a card where there are two title fights each quarter and have them as the PPV’s. throw the other title fight on as a freebie (pending injuries / availability of course)
It already is free if you know the right websites.
what are the web sites.. maybe you can let me know threw a social network
I get to watch my NFL, NBA, MLB and hockey for free on t.v. (with subsription of cable, of course). I can only hope that MMA becomes more mainstream enough that it will be just like all the other major sports, FREE all the time! It looks like it is gradually getting there, slowly. I hope Mr. White and friends see that more money is to be made with more people watching and the only way for that to happen better fights free on t.v. Just my two cents…ALOHA Mr. PENN from the city of “NO”
@Havaginabutts….
Random ass nickname,but very very accurate statement…
started using it after the Rousey article critcizing UFC ring girls for going nude
would be nice to elaborate why the US and Canada have to pay for fights while the rest of the world gets them for free. Is the north American fan subsidizing mma for the rest pf the world or are the international TV deals better?
yea why the hell do US and Canada have to pay $50 and the rest of the world doesn’t thats a load of crap atleast knock the ppv cost down to like $25
It’s not exactly free in other countries. They aren’t licensed generally by free network stations, so people are still paying for it. The problem right now with MMA is that it’s not on the level of the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football/basketball, NASCAR… and ratings hover in similar numbers to golf, tennis, MLS, etc.
Market saturation of sports. MMA is still growing… and with smart growth… hopefully it will become as ubiquitous as boxing used to be.
It doesnt exactly come free in the UK, you need a satellite subscription, then another subscription to ESPN. A live event from Vegas is on at around 2am over here, thats if ESPNUK can bothered to show it at all. Plus we dont get any of the support shows like Countdown or Unleashed or any Fight Nights.
Our MMA coverage is so shitty i would happily PPV if it meant i got consistant broadcasts.
In Aust PPV events are just that & the Fox Fights etc are free so as in US. A few super cards per year PPV would be great & rest free would be a happy result IMO.
I am Ron Burgundy?
I love lamp
Oooohhh sorry Champ,I think I ate your chocolate squirrel…
thank f*&k. thats going to save me a sh!t load of cash! I welcome that day!
Honestly, I hope there are Pay-Per-Views for at least a couple more years. I do not have cable T.V. and use my laptop for all my entertainment. I buy the P.P.V.s on YouTube and they work just fine. If I were forced to purchase cable, just to watch the UFC, I would be royally pissed off. I spend, what, $90.00 a month on UFC, but cable would probably cost even more (not sure how much it costs now-a-days).
at the end of the day this really is irrelevant i always felt ppv was bullshit to be honest about it…well maybe not bullshit but extremely overpriced…i mean ufc is nice but 50 bucks for a ppv i dunno…but i mean when your a 23 year old guy like myself and really wanna see a ppv u make a night of it invite people over every one throws in like a couple bucks for ppv/weed/beer then its cool…overall ppv or not ppv mma is growing and i feel like will forever grow because so many people from so many different walks of life can be really good at one concentration and make it a good thing or somebody like forrest griffin can be a jack of all trades work really hard and now he has wins over rampage, shogun, and the bonnar fights…im not a huge griffin fan in general but thats my point this sport is inviting to the masses and majority of the mainstream sports baseball, basketball, hockey, etc u kinda have to all resemble the same talents in some regard…but i mean u could be a mui tai king like shogun or a BJJ all star like a maia or have an excellent pedigree like a hughes or couture…i just see nothing but great things for this sport…this sport anyone who is able and motivated can really blossom and i dunno i guess im rambling but when i have kids i wouldnt think twice about pushing them into mma over football…mma is a lot safer then football or rugbee for cryn outloud…very tough sports but can really get seriously hurt…but ya pro mma all day…its a shame about boxing money hungry armchair warriors oppose to going in there themselves…love how dana and the paisan’s conduct the ufc
blaze up people
What it means is he’s going to create his own network and charge everyone extra to view it
pay the fighters more!
Its the same with the wrestling buisness in a sense. See back then people loved the technicality of the “sport”, but as time went on, bloodshed and pizzaz where the main focus. if the audience can learn to appreciate the technicality of mma, then the ufc will explode beyond the popularity of maybe even the nfl, nba and mlb.
Great points, Josh. But let’s be realistic. I agree the MMA market can take over MLB and NBA eventually, but NFL? Not a chance. Football is to the United States what soccer is to Europe, and I don’t foresee that changing.
I hope eventually PPVs go away. I don’t have any friends that are as into MMA as I am. Maybe that’s because I don’t train in MMA like some people here so, I don’t have access to people like myself. But, when I watch UFC matches I have to go to a bar because I can never get enough people to pitch in for a fight. Sometimes I have to miss UFC events because bigger sports taking up all of television space like Basketball, Football or Soccer.
Anyways I’m just saying I can’t afford $50 a month when I can’t watch it at a bar and I welcome the day when they no longer need PPVs.