Will UFC renew their horrible contract with ESPN?

[Fedorgasm]

The worst day in UFC history is when they signed a 7 year deal with ESPN where, to see the fights, UFC fans suddenly had to subscribe to ESPN+ on top of paying for the PPV.

ESPN+ was cheap at the time, I think only 5 bucks a month, but I rejected this deal on principle and swore to never order another PPV as long as this deal was in place.

Well it's been 6 years now, so they are probably deciding whether or not to renew.

I'm begging Dana and his lizard overlords to not renew this deal. Or at least remove the requirement of the ESPN+ subscription.

Until then, I will continue to vote with my wallet and encourage others to do the same.

 

[AldoStillGoat]

I don't know let me call Dana

he just said to mind your own business goof

 

[AldoStillGoat]

The worst day in UFC history is when they signed a 7 year deal with ESPN where, to see the fights, UFC fans suddenly had to subscribe to ESPN+ on top of paying for the PPV.

ESPN+ was cheap at the time, I think only 5 bucks a month, but I rejected this deal on principle and swore to never order another PPV as long as this deal was in place.

Well it's been 6 years now, so they are probably deciding whether or not to renew.

I'm begging Dana and his lizard overlords to not renew this deal. Or at least remove the requirement of the ESPN+ subscription.

Until then, I will continue to vote with my wallet and encourage others to do the same.

On a serious note this article says that they might move to netflix like WWE (RAW) did.

Do UFC media rights negotiations tell us the future of ESPN+?

As ESPN shifts focus to DTC service and Venu Sports, is ESPN+ the odd platform out? The UFC media rights negotations might tell us.

awfulannouncing.com

 

[svmr_db]

We're all rich sherbros here and you're complaining about how much a year of ESPN+ costs? That's peanuts for guys like us.

 

[CatchtheseHands]

Yes if it means ESPN is going to continue to cut them checks.

 

[AldoStillGoat]

UFC CEO Dana White on ‘Misconceptions’ About His Friend Donald Trump, ESPN Renewal Talks, New Roku Docuseries and More

UFC CEO Dana White talks about Roku docuseries "Fight Inc.,” his friend Donald Trump, negotiations with ESPN on a deal renewal and more.

variety.com

“I love being with ESPN right now. I like the working relationship that we have with them, but you never know,” White said. “We’ll see how this thing plays out as we get into negotiations.”

White said, “I’ve had my battles with [ESPN] over the last however many years we’ve been in business together and I think because of that, the relationship has gotten incredibly stronger.” He explained, “It was our first run with ESPN getting together, you know, two massive machines coming together and the thing that’s different about us than the other sports that they have is every we do everything in-house. I do my own production. You know, when you do a deal with ESPN, Fox and some of these other networks, they come in and do all the production… We’ve run into some roadblocks. We butt heads a little bit here and there [but] I feel like I’ve been through all of that with ESPN now and we are in a incredible place. We work very well together.”

Interesting.. this article is dated this month

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

ESPN has the worst app possible for a multibillion dollar conglomerate. Stuttering, lagging mess (1GB download speeds, it isnt my ISP)
I've bought two PPVs since the deal to watch Poatan starch Strickland and Izzy, all the rest are watched at a bar or find their way in front of me through the ether.
With the price continually increasing up to a ridiculous $80 now, unless there is a super stacked card that I want to watch at home instead of at the bar for some reason, I'm not ordering them, so I'm looking at 1 PPV a year from me probably on average here on out.

On a serious note this article says that they might move to netflix like WWE (RAW) did.

Do UFC media rights negotiations tell us the future of ESPN+?

As ESPN shifts focus to DTC service and Venu Sports, is ESPN+ the odd platform out? The UFC media rights negotations might tell us.

awfulannouncing.com

I would actually hope this happens. Netflix might be another evil conglomerate, but at least they have a working, high quality application. ESPN is going to have to shell out fat for the renegotiation and I feel Pittaro and Dana probably already butt heads hard.

 

[Fedorgasm]

We're all rich sherbros here and you're complaining about how much a year of ESPN+ costs? That's peanuts for guys like us.

It's not the money. It's the principle.

It's like if you went to your favorite steakhouse and ordered your usual, and they said, oh that steak now comes with shit sauce for only 25 cents extra.

And you say, "can I get my steak without shit sauce on it?"

To which the waiter replies, "OMG it's only 25 cents! What are you, POOR?"

 

[AldoStillGoat]

To be honest, most people here don't even pay for PPV's so not sure how serious of an answer you'll get

but in reality, expect the UFC to screw it's fans like it always does.

 

[whocares]

I renewed espn+ recently. It was over 100 bucks, not sure. I had to give it a long think because most of the FN's are dogshit now and I don't give a rats foot about whatever else is on there. I said I'll give it another year. FN's and UFC PPV's are the only MMA I watch at this point and I'd hate to abandon any of that because I've already pretty much dumped every other sport I used to follow. Modern sports have really gone down the shitter. They're all trying to appease some algorithm that doesn't work for fans. That bubbles got to burst soon enough, or maybe modern society is just so retarded now that it won't.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

I renewed espn+ recently. It was over 100 bucks, not sure. I had to give it a long think because most of the FN's are dogshit now and I don't give a rats foot about whatever else is on there. I said I'll give it another year. FN's and UFC PPV's are the only MMA I watch at this point and I'd hate to abandon any of that because I've already pretty much dumped every other sport I used to follow. Modern sports have really gone down the shitter. They're all trying to appease some algorithm that doesn't work for fans. That bubbles got to burst soon enough, or maybe modern society is just so retarded now that it won't.

The night is always darkest before the dawn, friend.

 

[ferrisjso]

The question would be on Disneys end. ESPN plus is the worst performing thing in the whole company. The Disney deal guareenteed a payout equal to 500k PPVs when their typical PPVs do a lot worse. And they just pocket the extra money.

The question is would Disney want to continue that arrangement?

 

[El Fernas]

Is it bad for the UFC?? As long as ESPN pays they wont care.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Why wouldn't they? Can't get much better than getting paid 500k buys for every PPV no matter how shit-ass it is.

 

[AldoStillGoat]

The question would be on Disneys end. ESPN plus is the worst performing thing in the whole company. The Disney deal guareenteed a payout equal to 500k PPVs when their typical PPVs do a lot worse. And they just pocket the extra money.

The question is would Disney want to continue that arrangement?

Maybe Disney is justifying the clout that the UFC provides. They might bleed out money but in return they get more eyeballs on ESPN products through their coverage of MMA.

UFC is smart though, they take all the money from the fighters and companies and then they even start leveraging the hype that their product generates.

That's how I justify my use of IPTV's instead of paying for the service. Yeah, I don't give the UFC money directly to pay the fighters but I'm part of a community that talks about the UFC non stop, so I am technically contributing to their product. Attention is currency too.

Not everyone can afford $70 ppv's with only one or two worthy fights on the card. Their product is so watered down these days that there are only a handful of cards worth the full price.

 

[AldoStillGoat]

Why wouldn't they? Can't get much better than getting paid 500k buys for every PPV no matter how shit-ass it is.

Well one reason is that ESPN does there own production and the UFC doesn't want that. I imagine Netflix would allow the UFC more production freedom.

 

[Mesos]

It's better if UFC goes to Netflix or Amazon who wont charge additional for it and just have it included as part of their streaming service. They have more reach too. Espn + will probably just get folded into the new Venu sports service that is definitely going to be priced much higher. They are even talking about $50 a month for that service.

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

The UFC got a guaranteed buyrate from ESPN. The majority of this site pilfers ppvs by streaming anyways. So the question is will ESPN even want to renew with UFC considering how big of deadbeats their fanbase are?

 

[Fedorgasm]

It's better if UFC goes to Netflix or Amazon who wont charge additional for it and just have it included as part of their streaming service. They have more reach too. Espn + will probably just get folded into the new Venu sports service that is definitely going to be priced much higher. They are even talking about $50 a month for that service.

Man if Netflix gets UFC and just gives it to existing subscribers at no extra cost I will personally blow their CEO.

I already love that company.

 

[Fedorgasm]

The UFC got a guaranteed buyrate from ESPN. The majority of this site pilfers ppvs by streaming anyways. So the question is will ESPN even want to renew with UFC considering how big of deadbeats their fanbase are?

It's funny. Piracy is not even a big problem in music anymore, because that industry has found it's price point. Music is cheap enough now that people are fine paying for it.

The same thing could happen with UFC. Most people would probably be fine paying for it if they didn't feel like they were getting ripped off.

Adding it to Netflix would probably keep a lot of subscribers from jumping ship to another streaming service.