News Netflix co-CEO casts doubt on interest in UFC after revealing streamer staying focused on ‘big, breakthrough events’

[SuspectChin]

This is what I’ve always thought too. Like, why not make Fight Pass an all inclusive thing like the WWE Network was? I assume one reason is that they still want a broadcast partner for the free Fight Night cards, and then that partner probably wants the PPVs exclusive to their service or whatever. And maybe there’s concerns as to whether FP has the bandwidth for a big PPV audience? But the UFC is like a gazillion dollar company, it would seem very doable.

Greed.

 

[Ibm]

UFC is a front business. They can relaxily put on D grade cards and it would not hurt them.

 

[Mittens]

Hopefully Netflix is kept as far away from UFC as humanely possible. I am still bummed about the WWE Network closing down and stuff moving to Flix - I only watch occasionally and the live stuff has worked out ok. But they lack infra (every WWE show is it's own thing on Netflix with no umbrella category etc... And I think they call different years of Wrestlemania "seasons" - half-assed bush league shit) but the big gripe is loss of the awesome library of old stuff which is unlikely to ever return in the form it was in.

And that brings me to the subject at hand. UFC Fight Pass is another awesome library of old stuff across the board - mma promotions, grappling stuff, etc. That's why I pay for Fight Pass. If Flix gets their paws on UFC they would also find a way to kill off Fight Pass (much thanks for ESPN not demanding that to happen) and we would lose a lot of old stuff, and quite significant amount of it would never come back.

The situation is mostly comparable librarywise, so the fear of similar thing happening is quite legit.

 

[cws80us]

Someone will probably overpay, because that's what these media companies do. But, it just feels like interest is at a low right now. Not much starpower, years of churning out bland apex fight cards, champions and top contenders rarely fighting, just not a lot to get excited about right now.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

I really nope UFC goes to a streaing platform that rids us of the long outdated PPV model.

 

[rjmbrd]

Hopefully Netflix is kept as far away from UFC as humanely possible. I am still bummed about the WWE Network closing down and stuff moving to Flix - I only watch occasionally and the live stuff has worked out ok. But they lack infra (every WWE show is it's own thing on Netflix with no umbrella category etc... And I think they call different years of Wrestlemania "seasons" - half-assed bush league shit) but the big gripe is loss of the awesome library of old stuff which is unlikely to ever return in the form it was in.

And that brings me to the subject at hand. UFC Fight Pass is another awesome library of old stuff across the board - mma promotions, grappling stuff, etc. That's why I pay for Fight Pass. If Flix gets their paws on UFC they would also find a way to kill off Fight Pass (much thanks for ESPN not demanding that to happen) and we would lose a lot of old stuff, and quite significant amount of it would never come back.

The situation is mostly comparable librarywise, so the fear of similar thing happening is quite legit.

$80/month PPV is not sustainable and has been trending down, which is why ESPN didn't automatically re-up.

It would be a massive boost for the sport if Netflix did a deal, making UFC events affordable and with a much wider audience.

The PPV model is past its time and will die off within a generation. I would say 10 years tops, but the wheels would come off before then.

 

[Neck&Neck]

Wrong. WWE on Netflix viewership is down considerably. They are down close to 40% in terms of U.S. viewers alone. And Americans are the top draw for advertiser dollars. It's a disastrous move so far. People are also constantly reporting technical errors with their streams.

If Vince McMahon were still running the company the media would be shitting all over the Netflix deal.

Huh, well truthfully I don’t know shit about wrestling
I just saw some report that announced Wrestlemania was the highest grossing event ever
And viewership was up over 100% from last years event
Thought they were doing really well in general
But just doing some searching now I see they are down a lot from the start of the deal

 

[DecisionSplit]

It would be a massive boost for the sport if Netflix did a deal, making UFC events affordable and with a much wider audience.

Wider audience? More people have cable television in the U.S. than Netflix. And even more when you factor in satellite services. Netflix's numbers are skewed to pump up their stock. UFC relegated to a single streaming service will cause another dip in popularity in the U.S. at least. WWE's Netflix deal is looking awful so far for both WWE and Netflix.

UFC is probably hoping to sell the company to the Saudis in the next decade. Meaning all moves from now on are about the arabs owning the promotion in the future and not pleasing the current fans. WME/TKO want to build up the sport to then sell it to a foreign buyer or a private equity group. So the next media deal for the UFC will be all about long term planning for another big sale.

 

[Last Falconry]

Startling that skepticism exists about forking over billions of dollars for the privelege of joe pyfer main events

 

[Pechan]

Netflix may want the PPVs but not the Fight Nights / Apex cards. I don't think they will reach an agreement.

Honestly, I don't think PPVs are selling enough for anyone to want them.

Then again these streaming platforms give millions to anyone walking by their entrance.

 

[Morris88]

Powah Slap is the future, Netflix knows what's up

 

[Patof]

Netflix doesn't want the honor of broadcasting Apex slop? Come on!

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

UFC is going to Disney+

It's already there besides PPVs

 

[Söze Aldo]

The timing actually sucks right now for the UFC to negotiate a new broadcast deal. The last time around it was the height of Conormania, the UFC is in a definite lull now.

Netflix probably realizes Jake Paul's name gets more attention than any present UFC star.

 

[Thepaintbucket]

UFC is probably asking for too much. ESPN and Fox sports need sport exclusivity to keep people subbing so it makes sense why they are willing to pay a premium for UFC content.

WWE has something UFC won't ever have and that's consistency. They can make new characters out of thin air and have weekly programming. Netflix don't wanna waste their time on 300k ppv events for hundreds of millions each year

 

[surgeyou1]

UFC dying confirmed.

 

[Tweak896]

Whatever happens, I hope the new owners crack the whip like Saudi Arabia did and demand good cards for good money. ESPN is ran by morons or something where the UFC was basically given a check no matter who they filled the cards with. I don't care if I have to load up Lifetime network app to watch if they make UFC responsible for quality.

 

[Söze Aldo]

Whatever happens, I hope the new owners crack the whip like Saudi Arabia did and demand good cards for good money. ESPN is ran by morons or something where the UFC was basically given a check no matter who they filled the cards with. I don't care if I have to load up Lifetime network app to watch if they make UFC responsible for quality.

That literally happened. The UFC conned ESPN into thinking Conor would consistently fight and that they'd be creating other superstars, so ESPN wrote them a blank check and we saw what we got.

 

[Tweak896]

That literally happened. The UFC conned ESPN into thinking Conor would consistently fight and that they'd be creating other superstars, so ESPN wrote them a blank check and we saw what we got.

Yep, this can be a good thing if whoever offers UFC money gets more control over something besides # of cards. Whatever the contract says better let them dictate quality. ESPN probably said put up X amount of cards and get Y amount of money. Force UFC to put the guys in the top 10 to fight every card.

Let's see... 11 divisions, 16, top 15 ranked fighters (including champ), that's 176 ranked fighters (including WMMA).

They should all fight 2x a year, 176 x 2 = 352 ranked fights in a year

10 fighters per main card, 4 cards per month = 40 ranked fighters needed a month

40 a month x 12 =480 (assuming we get nonstop cards but we just recently skipped a full month and skip some weeks in between), so 480 ranked fighters needed.

So 480-352 = 128 deficit in ranked fights for a main card every week of the year .

The number is less when you consider fighters should fight 3x a year and lower top 15 should fight non ranked. That's if there was a card every single week of the year. We've been getting apex cards throughout the year with nobodies filling it top to bottom. There is no reason the UFC should be putting out so much garbage. I'd love to deeper dive into the numbers, but someone isn't holding up their end of the bargain. As fans we should have ranked fights every single week and a ton of them.

 

[m249viking]

MMA has felt very stagnant and seems to be getting less eyes as of late. The hype really has fucked off.

Without a charismatic star like McGregor or GSP that happens.