UFC 237 Prelims ratings hit new low on ESPN

[badascan]

The streaming only model is such a misstep by the UFC, effectively killing the sport. Mma will always be around but wme has shot itself in the foot...

 

[Blayt7hh]

Yeah but what do they need pull on the prelims to make money? 800k might be plenty fine for prelims l, especially since they’re doing events almost every weekend now. It’s also not surprising that there were more viewers for the first few ones

 

[stipeszn]

I dunno how applicable numbers from 2017 are but I haven't thought of cutting the chord and I literally dont know anyone else who has.

Everyone I know family friends lol all have traditional cable/satellite packages and as I mentioned before ppl I've known including myself have bought the majority if all ppvs up until this ESPN + thing have not thought about picking up ESPN+.

I'm sure alot of ppl stream shit but there are ALOT of people who are completely comfortable with paying for satellite.

sherdog in a sentence - "my purely anecdotal experience is definitely a better indicator of how the UFC should model their business than the hundreds of people employed at ufc and espn that analyze market trends and actually know anything about anything"

 

[FKA]

sherdog in a sentence - "my purely anecdotal experience is definitely a better indicator of how the UFC should model their business than the hundreds of people employed at ufc and espn that analyze market trends and actually know anything about anything"

I understand the sentiment but.......

I'm a guy who has been putting on fight nights for over 15 years and have friends who have done the same.The Buffalo Wild Wings stopped showing the UFC fights after the ESPN + deal so did all the bars.

Literally none of my friends do fight nights out of 15-20 guys who would switch off and buy ppvs.I regularly had 50-75 people at my place none of which have bought ESPN +.

I literally dont know of a person on real life who has it.....

Considering the dipping viewership numbers and low buy rates for ppv,my thoughts dont seem that crazy.

I'm not just a casual fan shitting on this deal I've been around since this sport got on ppv and have seen firsthand the popularity fluctuate but right now the casual fan gives zero fucks about ESPN+ and most Hardcores too.

 

[FKA]

Meltzer pulled those numbers out of his arse.

Hes basically reporting on rumours, Thats all

In the past before numbers were officially released to the public meltzer would give his estimated buy rates and it was always very close if not on the money.

There is no difference here from his end

 

[neomage2021]

WME-IMG conned ESPN.

They seriously did. The icing on top of the cake was rushing a 2 year extension and a deal guaranteeing the UFC 500,000 buys per PPV + a share of any higher number, in return for an exclusivity deal. That deal that WME rushed was done following the very strong numbers UFC pulled on the first ESPN event due to the novelty factor. Ari Emmanuel and Dana White conned the shit out of ESPN.

Really? YOu don't think a massive company owned by Disney wouldn't do their due diligence???

 

[Lawless People]

Here’s the ESPN PPV “Prelims” breakdown to date:

UFC 234 “Adesanya vs. Silva”: 1.33 million
UFC 235 “Jones vs. Smith”: 1.48 million
UFC 236 “Poirier vs. Holloway 2”: 893,000
UFC 237 “Namajunas vs. Andrade”: 813,000

This trend does not bode well for the UFC 238 PPV “Prelims”

https://www.mmamania.com/platform/a...&utm_source=twitter&__twitter_impression=true

OMG because numbers never go up and down....well except in the 4 examples you just gave

 

[stipeszn]

I understand the sentiment but.......

I'm a guy who has been putting on fight nights for over 15 years and have friends who have done the same.The Buffalo Wild Wings stopped showing the UFC fights after the ESPN + deal so did all the bars.

Literally none of my friends do fight nights out of 15-20 guys who would switch off and buy ppvs.I regularly had 50-75 people at my place none of which have bought ESPN +.

I literally dont know of a person on real life who has it.....

Considering the dipping viewership numbers and low buy rates for ppv,my thoughts dont seem that crazy.

I'm not just a casual fan shitting on this deal I've been around since this sport got on ppv and have seen firsthand the popularity fluctuate but right now the casual fan gives zero fucks about ESPN+ and most Hardcores too.

I see where you're coming from, and this definitely could be a mistake on ESPN and the UFC's part, but it's almost certainly not, and traditional media is very rapidly being overtaken by streaming, even if there's a brief lag on the pickup. We're only a couple months until the new deal, people will most likely adjust over time

 

[Roljo]

So you arent watching this weekends card?

You didnt watch the Cerrone v Iaquinta card? You didnt watch UFC Fort Lauderdale? Or UFC Moscow? Or Thompson v Pettis? Or UFC London? Lewis v Dos Santos? UFC Prague? You didnt watch Dillashaw v Cejudo? (All those cards were ESPN+ exclusive)


So basically all you have watched this year is

UFC 236 and 237 Prelims

and

Barbosa v Gaethje and Ngannou v Cain

2 cards in 5 months...

Honestly, you dont sound like much of a UFC fan

Most cards on paper have like 2 ok fights and one good/great fight spread through the main and the prelims... I am not hyped by events like these. Just go check the highlights on the internet way more time effective.