- Joined
- Jul 31, 2015
- Messages
- 2,065
- Reaction score
- 5
Keeping 12 ppvs will be a disaster. ESPN are getting 8 more fight nights than FOX, meaning even more watered down cards.(Same size talent pool, more cards to fill out). I was surprised by the response by guys like Luke Thomas, thinking it was a great deal because of the prestige of ESPN. In Canada, the UFC is carried by TSN, sort of the ESPN equivalent. They barely mention the UFC outside of the shows they are required to carry. Previously they were carried by Sportsnet, probably the biggest sportscaster. Sportsnet put a big push on the UFC initially, but when the ratings slumped it moved to the secondary channels and they dropped their shoulder programming. I see the same happening at ESPN.So long as most of the feature fights are on PPV, which is a model that has crashed into the rocks and rolled off a cliff, overall interest in the sport will continue to decline.
ESPN ratings and subscribers are in serious trouble. The UFC hasn't figured out how to attract new, young fans, and their core audience is out growing the product.
Long term something substantial has to change.