The UFC and their failure of digital content

[Sapp]

If you look closely, you'll find the vast majority of significant fights online in complete form.

 

[JT RIPPER]

Why do you care how they promote their product? You're not paid to promote for them and neither are the people making the fan videos. You can claim all you want that it's promotion for them but ultimately, it comes down to "unauthorized reproduction."

I'm a DJ, I used to release lots of mix tapes and cds for sale. We ended up receiving a RIAA (music biz watch dogs) letter telling us what we're doing is illegal. In fact, it was illegal to do even if we weren't selling the product. The issue is we are giving away their product for free when they didn't ask for the "promotions" we are doing. In fact, we are giving away their product and they're potentially losing sales, while I'm gaining promotions for myself as a dj. They argued that if people are receiving these songs in mix compilations, it takes away from their actual sales. They have a right to choose who promotes their product and how.

Now, to equate this to current day digital product...you create content, using their intellectual property, for your YouTube channel. You are monetizing it and making money from it. This also takes away from potential sales of their DVD sales or fight pass subscriptions. Having gone through this on both sides, I understand where they're coming from.

I do agree they need to do more of this type of stuff on their own and provide more free content for fans. I also believe that if anyone is making money off their product, it should be the UFC itself or the fighters...nobody else.

 

[justbetter]

isn't the first week of fight pass free for newbies?

 

[LouisBolanos]

I have no problem with the UFC's control of digital content.

I can get my hands on whatever digital content I need with relative ease. Arrest one SirPaul, 10 more pop up and take his place. Heil P2P.

 

[FrankieNYC]

isn't the first week of fight pass free for newbies?

Yes

 

[FrankieNYC]

Agreed on the highlight reels. Taking down good promos was about as dumb as it gets.

The NBA is smart they make digital content a way to capture the youth; while the UFC fails to capture young fans, often because young people can't afford to be fans.

Excellent & insightful post

 

[Ken Fresno]

The UFC, by protecting their digital content so fiercely, actually hurts their growth. (IMO)

I understand WHY they do it, but here is my reasoning on why they shouldn't.

1) Over the past 8 years or so, I've had about 100 people come up to me and ask me about the UFC / MMA. They are on the verge of becoming fans and are interested in learning more about the sport. They ask for names they should know, and fights they should watch. Like most fans, I have a list of 10 need to see fights that would turn these people into lifelong fans. (ex: Shogun Hendo 1)

By not being able to provide a youtube link to a high quality version of the fight, there's no easy way to watch this fight for the barely casual fan. They are ready to become a hardcore fan, and actively interested, but most don't have the technical know-how or care enough to search through mmaversus.com or something like that to watch it.

So they never end up watching the fights I tell them they need to watch, and either lose interest or remain a casual fan.

Huge Missed Opportunity.

2) Fan trailers ---- Those who have followed to sport long enough are familiar with NickTheFace. The guy used to make these epic trailers for fights that I'd end up watching 30 times and get extremely fired up for the fights. These are videos I could post on my facebook or text to a friend and suddenly I've exposed 2,000 potentially interested people to a 2:30 trailer for an upcoming fight.

But the UFC hated this, and would always take these trailers down. Some of the trailers had a few million views. They were that good, and that well shared. -- But the UFC takes them down and I'm no longer able to quickly promote a fight I care about to my network of casuals who MIGHT care about it.

Huge Missed Opportunity.

3) Fighter highlights / profiles. -- Unless you're a star and get a PPV headlined -- the UFC is not going to give you an embedded or any sort of countdown show. Those shows do a lot of good in helping casuals relate to a fighter or get emotionally invested. Sometimes they only show the video right before the main event, which is a miss because you'd have to be watching the event in the first place.

There should be a 3-5 minute video of (nearly) every fighter on their roster, with a simple breakdown of consistency.
1-2 Minutes explain your background / life / problems / bio / why I should care
1 minute training montage or something
1 minute of highlights of your fights

This way I can see a fighter perform and look them up and get to know them more "personally". This really helps get my girlfriend interested in the fights. If she's able to watch a little background of the fighters she can pick a fighter she wants to win and she's much more engaged in the actual fight when it's on. Otherwise she'll pretend to watch and be on her phone.

Huge Missed Opportunity.

Thoughts? Do you think the UFC is managing their digital content well?

Completely agree TS

And what about PPV replays? Every HBO ppv event plays one week later for free on hbo. And usually they use it to lead into another fight. And they end up getting people to watch the ppv that couldn't or wouldn't, AND people stick around for the live event that they probably would have missed.

The UFC on the other hand waits over a month to release old PPVs that got 100k buys, on their paid subscription service, Fight Pass.

So if I wanna watch the replay of Mayweather-Pacquiao I can wait 1 week and watch it on hbo, but if I wanna watch/re-watch Holm-De Randamie I have to wait a month and watch on a glitchy streaming service.

 

[Congo66]

Thoughts? Do you think the UFC is managing their digital content well?

Go to the UFC YouTube channel there are free HD quality fights there + the promos so that covers point 1 at it should be more than enough for someone to decide whether or not to watch the UFC.

Point 2 I'd personally hate and the same with point 3 but maybe that's just me.

 

[SinisterSpider]

Go to the UFC YouTube channel there are free HD quality fights there + the promos so that covers point 1 at it should be more than enough for someone to decide whether or not to watch the UFC.

Point 2 I'd personally hate and the same with point 3 but maybe that's just me.

You'd hate having the option to watch free digital content about a fighter you may or may not care about?

Do all youtube videos make you mad?

 

[Congo66]

You'd hate having the option to watch free digital content about a fighter you may or may not care about?

Do all youtube videos make you mad?

And how does your original post cover any of that?
You're not living in the real world, real sports don't just give their rights away.

I watch UFC events for the fights and not for shots of the fighters at home with their wives/gf's/kids or some montage of them sweating while training if you like that sort of thing watch reality tv or soaps.