Scott Coker says Bellator can't afford Fedor, Is the UFC only place that can?

[dakimbo]

Doesn't Viacom foot the bill?

Bellator IS Viacom. They're literally one and the same. Viacom can afford whatever the hell they want. Don't let Dana and his drones tell you otherwise. They could buy Dana if they wanted.

 

[Malthian]

Bellator IS Viacom. They're literally one and the same. Viacom can afford whatever the hell they want. Don't let Dana and his drones tell you otherwise. They could buy Dana if they wanted.

I'm guessing that you don't have much experience with major corporations.

Viacom is a massive corporation with dozens upon dozens of divisions. Those divisions are all headed by individual executives. Those executive teams are responsible for the profit and loss of those divisions including the subsidiaries of those divisions. Those divisional heads have to report to higher level executives and have to justify their profits and losses. If their division makes money they earn bonuses and promotions. If those divisions lose money they not only earn less money but can lose their jobs.

The higher level executives have to report to the CEO, who then has to report to the board of directors, who then have to report to the shareholders. At any point in the chain, someone's neck and earnings are on the line.

To get some idea of how small Bellator is in the pecking order, here's the list of corporations that are subsidiaries of Viacom.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1339947/000119312513441356/d622822dex211.htm

Scott Coker runs Bellator. However Coker has to answer to his boss who actually is an executive with Spike TV named Scott Fishman (he's also responsible for TNA Wrestling and PBC). Scott Fishman answers to Kevin Kay who is the president of SpikeTV. Spike TV as a whole is estimated to have annual revenue of around $600M, however that isn't all profit. After expenses and overhead you can't reasonably expect their gross profit margins to be much larger than 30% or let's say $180M before taxes and depreciation.

So, let's say that you're Scott Fishman and you're responsible for PBC, TNA and Bellator. PBC isn't really making much money yet. TNA Wrestling is an earner but it's not exactly a cash cow. And Bellator is doing okay but it isn't exactly blowing away the competition.

How are you going to justify blowing the bank on acquiring Fedor? Especially since Bellator isn't exactly making bank off PPV's, and Fedor's low profile and long retirement isn't guaranteed to translate into higher ratings? And even if Scott Fishman was on board, how are you going to sell an up front cost of millions of dollars to your boss Kevin Kay? Especially millions of dollars that Bellator does NOT currently have in their bank account?

Executives don't stay executives if they're not watching the bottom line. And front line guys like Coker and Fishman aren't going to stick their necks out on a gamble like Fedor unless they're really, REALLY sure that they're either going to make a buck or bring in a ton of viewers ala Brock.

 

[dakimbo]

I'm guessing that you don't have much experience with major corporations.

Viacom is a massive corporation with dozens upon dozens of divisions. Those divisions are all headed by individual executives. Those executive teams are responsible for the profit and loss of those divisions including the subsidiaries of those divisions. Those divisional heads have to report to higher level executives and have to justify their profits and losses. If their division makes money they earn bonuses and promotions. If those divisions lose money they not only earn less money but can lose their jobs.

The higher level executives have to report to the CEO, who then has to report to the board of directors, who then have to report to the shareholders. At any point in the chain, someone's neck and earnings are on the line.

To get some idea of how small Bellator is in the pecking order, here's the list of corporations that are subsidiaries of Viacom.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1339947/000119312513441356/d622822dex211.htm

Scott Coker runs Bellator. However Coker has to answer to his boss who actually is an executive with Spike TV named Scott Fishman (he's also responsible for TNA Wrestling and PBC). Scott Fishman answers to Kevin Kay who is the president of SpikeTV. Spike TV as a whole is estimated to have annual revenue of around $600M, however that isn't all profit. After expenses and overhead you can't reasonably expect their gross profit margins to be much larger than 30% or let's say $180M before taxes and depreciation.

So, let's say that you're Scott Fishman and you're responsible for PBC, TNA and Bellator. PBC isn't really making much money yet. TNA Wrestling is an earner but it's not exactly a cash cow. And Bellator is doing okay but it isn't exactly blowing away the competition.

How are you going to justify blowing the bank on acquiring Fedor? Especially since Bellator isn't exactly making bank off PPV's, and Fedor's low profile and long retirement isn't guaranteed to translate into higher ratings? And even if Scott Fishman was on board, how are you going to sell an up front cost of millions of dollars to your boss Kevin Kay? Especially millions of dollars that Bellator does NOT currently have in their bank account?

Executives don't stay executives if they're not watching the bottom line. And front line guys like Coker and Fishman aren't going to stick their necks out on a gamble like Fedor unless they're really, REALLY sure that they're either going to make a buck or bring in a ton of viewers ala Brock.

Ummm...TNA is gone, Dana. Shows how much you know about business.

Free advice - if you want to be a condescending prick, make sure you at least have a clue what you're talking about first.

 

[Malthian]

Ummm...TNA is gone, Dana. Shows how much you know about business.

Free advice - if you want to be a condescending prick, make sure you at least have a clue what you're talking about first.

You're correct, TNA left Spike TV at the end of last year. It was still under Scott Fishman's purview prior to that period. Not sure where Glory fits in the current picture. So sue me, I don't specialize in media analysis or spend large amounts of time breaking down the internal corporate structure of Viacom. It's not like I own Viacom shares and am looking over their 10Qs.

If that's the ONLY counterpoint you have to my point, which is that Scott Coker doesn't have unlimited flexibility to throw money at a guy like Fedor then what exactly are you arguing other than pointing out a factual error in the actual properties being distributed by SpikeTV? The point still stands.

It's not condescending to correct a misconception about how corporations actually work. It's not different than my pointing out if it's clear that someone hasn't dealt extensively with contracts or the criminal justice system, or even if they've never baked a souffle.

Did I say that you were stupid? Did I imply that you were unable to learn? No, I just pointed out that it's apparent that you lack experience in the area. That isn't good or bad, that's just how life works. I don't know crap all about professional snowboarding. Such is life, nobody can know everything about everything.

Your implication was that Viacom would just throw money into Bellator is fundamentally flawed. It's been pointed out by multiple people in the thread long before my participation that that isn't how reality works.

So you can either stay in your specific reality where large corporations throw around revenue like drunken sailors, or you can accept that it's not as easy as just assuming that because Bellator is part of the larger media conglomerate that is Viacom that they would have access to the full range of resources of Viacom.

You can get all butt hurt about being offered the equivalent of a primer on large corporate governance, or you can put your ego aside and use the opportunity to gain a better understanding of how corporate America actually works. If I were you I'd choose the latter. Knowledge is power.

Given the choice wouldn't you rather be the guy that knows more?

 

[Sherdoggy]

No one outside this forum cares about Fedor. I doubt he's in any negotiations. He's likely just looking for an offer, any offer, from any company. Maybe if he hadn't gotten knocked out by a middleweight after getting finished by two mediocre heavyweights he'd have some bargaining power...

White had no trouble trashing Fedor in the past and isn't one to mince words. When he was asked about Fedor fighting in the UFC after his recent un-retirement, he smiled and said "we'll see". If he had no interest, he very likely would have said "the UFC has no interest in signing Fedor", just as he said that about Ben Askren when asked.

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

Looks like if we are going to get Fedor in the UFC it won't be until next year. Maybe even UFC 200. No one is available.

At this rate, I fully expect him to fight in M-1 for a tune up which would take away a lot of luster from his return if he did.

 

[spardeous]

White had no trouble trashing Fedor in the past and isn't one to mince words. When he was asked about Fedor fighting in the UFC after his recent un-retirement, he smiled and said "we'll see". If he had no interest, he very likely would have said "the UFC has no interest in signing Fedor", just as he said that about Ben Askren when asked.

The way I look at it, Dana White isn't blasting off on twitter about Fedor, and he hasn't gone off dispelling rumors yet, so there must be some meaningful negotiation taking place between the two.

 

[Chicken Dinner]

Please just let him sign with the Ufc and rematch Crocop or Hunt

That's such a dumb idea.

There's no point in rematches this late in his career. He already beat them both.

 

[Baba Ghanoush]

Ummm...TNA is gone, Dana. Shows how much you know about business.

Free advice - if you want to be a condescending prick, make sure you at least have a clue what you're talking about first.

Looking forward to your fifth(?) account chuteboxin.

 

[ineverpost]

He says that to drop UFCs offer and convince Fedor to come down. Still 99% sure he goes to Bellator. The other 1% is between WSOF and some other promotions. 0% he goes to UFC.

 

[Adamant]

Looks like if we are going to get Fedor in the UFC it won't be until next year. Maybe even UFC 200. No one is available.

At this rate, I fully expect him to fight in M-1 for a tune up which would take away a lot of luster from his return if he did.

Just bring him in and give him someone easier as a tune up. Like Cro Cop, Barrnett, Big Nog, Gonzaga, or Nelson.

With the right hype, Fedor vs Cro Cop II would be pretty damn big.

 

[Killuminati0947]

But he does have a source, MMAFighting.com and while it didn't directly quote Coker as saying they "can't afford him" the quote , "Coker gave the impression that isn't a direction he's looking at going, noting Emelianenko's price tag may not make sense for Bellator as a pure television product. He also noted Emelianenko went 1-3 in Strikeforce, and that it would be a difficult deal to put together." is from MMAFighting.com, not from the TS.

Those of us discussing it are giving rational reasons for why Bellator would not want Fedor, with the primary being the fact they'd need to do a PPV to make money off of Fedor, and they don't have plans to do another PPV any time soon.

Real recognize real

And maybe I do want to find anything that hints at Fedor fighting for the UFC and fighting legit competition, not some can in Russia. Any real fan of the sport is cause they know how big that is.