Bellator 204 Does 319k Viewers

[AGEZ909]

Those who rebranded seriously misidentified their demographics.

 

[RODNEY83]

Don't worry, stupid fans will defend those awful ratings

 

[FrankieNYC]

Don't worry, stupid fans will defend those awful ratings

Don'tcha know?
when UFC has bad numbers, they are dying
When Bellator does, there is a reason for it (competition, weather, etc)

Meanwhile every card is only as good as the card
It was a weak card in the summer, so expected to be bad, so the white flag does not need to be out.
But there are still issues with Paramount & the bad ratings that need to be looked at or else they will be dropped to a lesser station or to DAZN completely.

 

[bubbleboyjones]

I always thought Bellator is the only MMA org that got a really good platform outside the UFC. I mean when the UFC left Spike that was the best possible built-in audience a promotion could have and they still couldn't ultimately survive there. Forget it now with Paramount and DAZN.

 

[Baba Ghanoush]

I’d be shocked if Viacom doesn’t sell bellator off by the end of the year. Writing seems to be on the wall with the DAZN deal.

 

[Brock-B-level-Athlete]

no one gives a shit about UFC/MMA and you really think people are interested in Bellator? holyshit ... even their name sucks.

ufc is this



but Bellator is like this for the whole universe

 

[FrankieNYC]

Thats a big question. I really dont know if this DAZN is gonna work out. Its like the new kid on the block throwing tons of money around, we've seen how that ends. Affliction overpaying like crazy for guys, gone. PBC, overpaying for fights, they are still around but basically are dead.

I dont know if DAZN is gonna be the next big thing. Maybe it will be but I could def see in a few years this thing not going well. But if you are Bellator you take the money being offered and you deal with it down the road if it goes south.

What will most likely happen is a few top streaming companies will buy out the smaller ones
There is no chance ESPN+ recoups $150m a year with UFC, but having an established sport makes them more appealing to buy.
Lets say Netflix Sports becomes a thing. They could buy out a lot of the streamers & consolidate the content.

 

[FrankieNYC]

I’d be shocked if Viacom doesn’t sell bellator off by the end of the year. Writing seems to be on the wall with the DAZN deal.

Maybe
but that $33.3m a year guarantee might be why they keep them too

 

[Pakman]

I didn't expect a huge draw but it was about 50k less then I thought it'd be.

Good card action wise it's crazy how far the viewers have gone down on average in North America from just a few years ago be it bellator,ufc,or pfl.

i said it before, I'll say it again, MMA is a fad/niche sport. The general public got into it because of the Ronda Rousey's and Brock and Conor even, but, aside from that, they don't care. Not enough to continue watching it on a regular basis.

 

[Pakman]

What will most likely happen is a few top streaming companies will buy out the smaller ones
There is no chance ESPN+ recoups $150m a year with UFC, but having an established sport makes them more appealing to buy.
Lets say Netflix Sports becomes a thing. They could buy out a lot of the streamers & consolidate the content.

yeah Netflix or some company could come in and swoop a lot of the smaller streamers, not going to get the ESPN stuff. ESPN will for sure not be making 150M a year through new viewers on ESPN+ but its just one of the handful of sports that will be promoted on the app. Netflix has no shot of swooping them up though

 

[FrankieNYC]

yeah Netflix or some company could come in and swoop a lot of the smaller streamers, not going to get the ESPN stuff. ESPN will for sure not be making 150M a year through new viewers on ESPN+ but its just one of the handful of sports that will be promoted on the app. Netflix has no shot of swooping them up though

I think everyone has a shot at being bought/sold & buying
Companies merge/consolidate all the time
If it makes financial sense, anything can happen.
It is a different day when it comes to content distribution.

 

[FrankieNYC]

i said it before, I'll say it again, MMA is a fad/niche sport. The general public got into it because of the Ronda Rousey's and Brock and Conor even, but, aside from that, they don't care. Not enough to continue watching it on a regular basis.

You can't compare watching prize fighting the same way as other sports.
when the top names are lucky to fight 2x a year & usually behind a paywall, its a different metric.

But UFC/MMA is certainly mainstream.
Record gates in NYC = mainstream
A possible 2m buy PPv = mainstream

but like boxing, the top names drive the interest & it will always be that way.

 

[Pakman]

I think everyone has a shot at being bought/sold & buying
Companies merge/consolidate all the time
If it makes financial sense, anything can happen.
It is a different day when it comes to content distribution.

yeah I definitely agree, but, all the merging and consolidation being done in that industry atm is by Disney (who owns ESPN). Disney's purchase of FOX is good for them (and bad for almost everyone else, aside from the fact that they have all the marvel characters again and distribution rights to the 1 star wars movie that they did not have).

Disney isn't going to let Netflix swoop in and steal a streaming platform when Disney is trying to be the sole distributor of all online content. There's a reason why they are pulling all their movies off of Netflix by this time next year (Disney's own streaming service being the reason). Doubt they're going to let a competitor just purchase them, when they are the largest company in entertainment (movie wise at least) in the world.

 

[FrankieNYC]

yeah I definitely agree, but, all the merging and consolidation being done in that industry atm is by Disney (who owns ESPN). Disney's purchase of FOX is good for them (and bad for almost everyone else, aside from the fact that they have all the marvel characters again and distribution rights to the 1 star wars movie that they did not have).

Disney isn't going to let Netflix swoop in and steal a streaming platform when Disney is trying to be the sole distributor of all online content. There's a reason why they are pulling all their movies off of Netflix by this time next year (Disney's own streaming service being the reason). Doubt they're going to let a competitor just purchase them, when they are the largest company in entertainment (movie wise at least) in the world.

I'm not saying its happening, but never say never
Disney could buy Netflix
Predicting the immediate future is a lot smarter bet.
Things have changed so fast that anything is possible in 2-10 years

One thing for certain is, all these streaming services won't make it

 

[Pakman]

You can't compare watching prize fighting the same way as other sports.
when the top names are lucky to fight 2x a year & usually behind a paywall, its a different metric.

But UFC/MMA is certainly mainstream.
Record gates in NYC = mainstream
A possible 2m buy PPv = mainstream

but like boxing, the top names drive the interest & it will always be that way.

bitcoin was also mainstream like 6 months ago. I'd hear random idiots at a bar trying to talk about it. Now, nobody mentions it.

Americans tend to go through phases where they basically become obsessed with 1 thing for a few months and that's it. Then the hype dies down and it's all over.

Sure, Conor will make people buy the PPV. but he's a rare breed. People aren't at bars talking about the Vick vs Gaethje match-up. I just don't think it'll ever be that big. It'll have its fans for sure, but, it won't really get new fans. Anyone who has been exposed to it and isn't a fan, isn't going to somehow become a fan in the future (usually)

 

[Pakman]

I'm not saying its happening, but never say never
Disney could buy Netflix
Predicting the immediate future is a lot smarter bet.
Things have changed so fast that anything is possible in 2-10 years

One thing for certain is, all these streaming services won't make it

my man, always good to have an actual discussion on here. appreciate it bro.

 

[FrankieNYC]

bitcoin was also mainstream like 6 months ago. I'd hear random idiots at a bar trying to talk about it. Now, nobody mentions it.

Americans tend to go through phases where they basically become obsessed with 1 thing for a few months and that's it. Then the hype dies down and it's all over.

Sure, Conor will make people buy the PPV. but he's a rare breed. People aren't at bars talking about the Vick vs Gaethje match-up. I just don't think it'll ever be that big. It'll have its fans for sure, but, it won't really get new fans. Anyone who has been exposed to it and isn't a fan, isn't going to somehow become a fan in the future (usually)

Comparing a sport that has been mainstream for over a decade to Bitcoin?
Come on man

UFC is mainstream
People in bars not talking about Gaethje does not mean it isn't lol

Great back/forth as always though buddy

 

[FrankieNYC]

my man, always good to have an actual discussion on here. appreciate it bro.

Funny timing ... I pretty much just said the same to you
The trolls & nitwits will be here soon though

Have a great night

 

[dr. john lee]

I'm always good for a Pride History lesson. Who did they have prospect wise that would be like Pico or Ed Ruth, Joey Davis, Cotton, Wrestlers, where they start their careers with the Org and aren't true MIXED martial artist yet, and who did they throw them into the fire with?

AJ McKee has been handled perfectly in my opinion, Pico has jumped right in, Ruth and Gracie are in the tournament with the big boys.

MVP obviously they played too safe unless MVP was using the time to seriously train wrestling.

Rampage stepped right into a fight with Sakuraba.
Sakuraba was fast-tracked into big-names (at the time, the Gracies were big names)
Yoshida cam straight from the judo mat to fighting Don Frye I think
Mark Hunt was K-1 champ, fought Wanderlei Silva very early in his MMA career

Lots more. The point being, you gotta make compelling matchups and let the chips fall where they may. No one wants to see Pico fight some UPS driver, they want to see him fight (e.g.) a guy like Gallagher and shut him up. Everyone wants to see Danis get his shit pushed in... so put him in there with some tough guys.

 

[InfinityLens]

Rampage stepped right into a fight with Sakuraba.
Sakuraba was fast-tracked into big-names (at the time, the Gracies were big names)
Yoshida cam straight from the judo mat to fighting Don Frye I think
Mark Hunt was K-1 champ, fought Wanderlei Silva very early in his MMA career

Lots more. The point being, you gotta make compelling matchups and let the chips fall where they may. No one wants to see Pico fight some UPS driver, they want to see him fight (e.g.) a guy like Gallagher and shut him up. Everyone wants to see Danis get his shit pushed in... so put him in there with some tough guys.

I don't think they necessarily have to go that fast but having guys constantly can crushing is crazy. Just keep working them up against tougher opponents for chrissakes (assuming they keep winning of course).