Media UFC now forcing British fans to pay PPV fee to watch certain events on BT Sport

[TheLinguist]

except in the US its on during prime time, in the UK the PPV starts at 3am duhh. Also the fact that we have to pay for the BT Sports package in the first place and now a PPV cost on top of that

You deserve it because you are a shit tier poster and a complete moron

 

[J0N0]

I'm not sure why people are competing over who's getting f****ed over most..

Can't we all just agree that hardcore fans everywhere are having their loyalty exploited?

Without watching the UFC we'll all be just fine, but without us watching they'll be over. They'd do well to remember that.

 

[West_Hammer]

And in the US if PPV was $20, most UFC fans would be thrilled to buy it. This is what being spoiled looks like.

If you had to stay up til 3am to watch it, you wouldn’t be quite so thrilled.

 

[GSP Rush]

Just seen this due to a random Google search and wanted to sign up and add a comment here as I completely agree with what everyone is saying.

There's a thread on the BT Sport TV forum too where people are expressing it there with BT and a petition which fans are signing in regards to this. Just do a Google search for "UFC 239 to be shown on BT Sport Box Office BT Forum" if you want to find this.

Another thing which is really great is this video here, it's a couple of Irish guys talking about this from an MMA podcast (which I believe Conor McGregor has supported) in regards to this whole situation:



Definitely listen fully through to that video as the guys really do nail it, share the video too as not only do they cover it really well but the petition is also linked with the video which fans need to sign.

Another thing I'm seeing too is the fact BT Sport Box Office hasn't even been distributed through all their platforms where they have subscribers. So not only have they started to charge for PPV's at an early hour but they've also taken it away completely from a handful of their subscribers who don't even have access to the Box Office to purchase in the first place which is completely unfair.

They really need to sort this out, if people buy the PPV they'll continue to do it, if not, they won't, so I guess that's pretty much it when push comes to shove.

 

[mac one]

UFC really needed to go the WWE route with the streaming service.
Maybe ESPN will force them when they see the PPV sale numbers flush down the toilet.
WWE has a proven model and their product is shit right now, but yet Vince still making money hand over fist.

 

[GSP Rush]

UFC really needed to go the WWE route with the streaming service.
Maybe ESPN will force them when they see the PPV sale numbers flush down the toilet.
WWE has a proven model and their product is shit right now, but yet Vince still making money hand over fist.

Honestly, this would be great if they had Fight Pass available on all platforms like the WWE Network is.

The WWE absolutely nailed it making it available to everyone through various platforms, they've made it easily available for everyone which is also why it's been a success and it's really reasonably priced too, which again is why it's been a huge success (greed will always eventually fall).

BT Sport Box Office aren't available on so many platforms, including some of their subscribers through other mediums, they've only covered Sky, Virgin and their own then expect people to watch on phones and laptops or buy Chromecasts (which also isn't beneficial for everyone).

The WWE Network however have made it available on so many platforms so that it's easy for people to access and subscribe.

All these here:

WWE Network Compatible Devices and Models

Smart TVs

• Sony TV (Android TVs Only)
• LG TV (2017 and newer models)
• Panasonic Life+Screen Smart TVs
• Samsung Smart TVs (2017 and 2018 models)

Connected Devices

• Amazon Fire TV
• Android TV
• Apple TV
• Chromecast
• Roku

Game Consoles

• Sony PlayStation 4
• Xbox One

PCs and Laptops
Fans can watch WWE on the web with Mozilla, Firefox and Google Chrome from their personal computer.

• Firefox
• Google Chrome
• Internet Explorer

Smart Phones/Tablets
Download the WWE Network app for your mobile device from Apple App Store or Google Play.

• iOS
• Android

 

[Feardoesnotexistinmydojo]

I don't think that this is justifiable given the fact that European fans have to stay up all night to watch these cards live.

What do you UK guys think about this?

For UFC most people will stream it. Think they'll kill their market here a bit

 

[Lawless People]

I don't think that this is justifiable given the fact that European fans have to stay up all night to watch these cards live.

What do you UK guys think about this?

and you couldn't tell the ass fucking was coming???? really???

 

[theblackknight]

No one would care if they had stacked cards worth the money, problem is most of the cards are not worth paying for. Regardless of wether you have the money or not, if all you care about is 1-2 fights on a card it’s hardly enticing.

And sure boxing might have only one big fight per event, but the big fights everyone wants to see are few and far between. In the end only their big superstars will bring in PPV buys but the UFC doesn’t care anymore with their new ESPN deal.

 

[GSP Rush]

It's really not a UFC thing, it's a pure BT Sport decision. There's an article confirming this with Dave Shaw, as the other member here mentioned about:

I don't think the UFC cares how BT sport distributes the event? I thought that the UFC sells the distribution rights to the provider. How the provider wished to turn that into something profitable is up to them. Is that not how it works?

This really is how it is. Basically, BT Sport just air the ESPN stream from the US and UFC have given them the rights to distribute it here as their UK platform, how BT Sport distribute this and profit from it/set prices etc... it's entirely down to them, it's nothing to do with the UFC isn't this decision.

As Dave Shaw mentions here:

Fight fans in the UK and Ireland have all been asking themselves the same question since BT Sport’s unpopular announcement: How many pay-per-view events will be on box office?

That figure, according to Shaw, will be entirely down to BT Sport. "Ultimately this is going to come down to how BT wants to pursue this right that they've got," he said.

And here:

BT Sport have decided to put a number of UFC PPV events behind a second paywall

Dave Shaw has revealed the number of PPV events on box office will be down to BT Sport

It's a pure BT Sport decision, they're just testing the waters to see how much money they can make off this.

 

[dim_]

Bt closing 270 office to save money

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jun/05/bt-to-close-offices-in-more-than-270-uk-locations

BT looking at cutting 25,000 jobs

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.p...ly-mulling-possibility-of-25000-job-cuts.html

Cant find the interview right now but bt ceo also said they are now focussing less on cheap deals to attrack new Customers and more on getting more money out of existing subscribers


BT need cash, starting bt sport meant spending billions to compete with sky and its turned into a millstone around their necks, over paying for many sports.

This is their new ceo trying a money grab, How can we get more money out if customers

 

[dim_]

Help me understand, because I'm not familiar with the cable system in the UK. Is having Sky/Virgin equivalent to a cable provider in the states like, AT&T, Time Warner, Charter, etc? Between cable & internet, I pay close to $200 per month, and that does not includes PPVs , ESPN+ or cell phones. So that $64.99 for me is added to the $200 per month I already pay. Do you have to have Sky/Virgin & BTS in order to purchase the PPV?

Edit: Also forgot to add that not all of MMA is in the US. I've add to stay up late or get up early to watch Pride & other MMA events overseas. And I had to pay to watch.

BT sport is extra on top of your regular tv bill.

You get your tv from sky, virgin, whoever which is your regular tv, but then bt sport is an additional charge on top if anything up to £30-40

Then on top if that £20 for the ppv.

The thing to also remember is all of the prelims are on fight pass in the uk

So you are paying that £40 purely for main cards

 

[dim_]

I cancelled BT sport last month. Fight pass is 5 quid a month. I don’t mind being two weeks behind. It gives me enough time to read on here which stinkers to skip.

Watch the prelims on fightpass.
Go to bed at 3am
Download the main card next day

 

[GSP Rush]

That's a shame -Dim-. Thing is, despite all this BT Sport have been fantastic for the UFC, they've really brought some great footage and coverage even with shows such as Inside The Octagon, Greatest Fights, Connected and UFC Now (which is brilliant!) as well as of course the coverage for the fights and events for them to do this is a real shame and a let down considering they promised us they wouldn't do this.

Greed will absolutely destroy a company, even if it's over a slow process it will. When you think about the companies here who have the best long term success, they all have great customer service and are fair to their customers too. Companies such as Amazon, O2, eBay and currently growing now fast due to this also is Plusnet and it's no surprise as to why. There's probably more but it baffles me when you see companies that have clearly been great such as BT Sport start to spoil themselves for the quick buck and for not treating their customers the way they promised they would. Sure it's a business but at the same time a good business move is catering and caring for your customers as opposed to milking them for every penny you can, so many companies who have done this have gone downhill as there's always another company that comes in and treats them better and fairly, it baffles me how companies don't even see and realise this considering they're obviously intelligent people to be able to build up such a successful business in the first place.

Hopefully BT Sport will realise the error of their mistake, I was reading an email someone posted on the BT Sport forum which sounds like they are getting a lot of complaints and regretting their decision (or are they), at least from this email anyway.

Thanks for your email, we are really sorry to know that your have to wait for UFC match and this was not broadcast on the sport channel as this was shifted to the BT Box office. We have received a lot of feedback from our customer about the same. The matter will be escalated to the BT forum discussion with the higher management.

We truly regret about the situation and we will certainly get this matter highlighted to our management. We have logged this as a priority and will be solved with in no time. We will request you to be with us as we will definitely come up with a resolution for our valuable customer like you, we apologise once more for the inconvenience.

I guess we'll just have to see as the only way they'll not do this is if people refuse to buy it. If people buy it and support it they're just going to encourage them to do it more and more so I reckon it's a case of that really to see how it goes.

 

[deadon]

This is how it all works. Get people hooked then charge em. This has been a long time coming.

 

[GSP Rush]

This is how it all works. Get people hooked then charge em. This has been a long time coming.

Except the UFC is still growing here and is very premature. Not to mention it's on at early hours almost every time and is mainly full of casuals who watch at the moment due to the sport currently growing.

The thing is, BT Sport were profiting massively from their current format of having UFC exclusive to them the way they did but then they get greedy and decide to start putting PPV's on their Box Office Platform (which also isn't available for a handful of their customers on certain platforms too to even have the choice to purchase) and they end up getting more cancellations than PPV buys.

Whoever thought this was a good idea really needs to have a re-think.

 

[aLB18]

Same boat as a lot of people here. Paying £30 a month for BT Sport just for the UFC and if they are going to charge pay per view for the UFC now may as well cancel. Its already a joke that any decent Boxing event is Pay per view here and boxnation dont show anything decent anymore.

 

[GSP Rush]

Same boat as a lot of people here. Paying £30 a month for BT Sport just for the UFC and if they are going to charge pay per view for the UFC now may as well cancel. Its already a joke that any decent Boxing event is Pay per view here and boxnation dont show anything decent anymore.

Yeah, because they had the UFC as part of their package the way they did they were getting a ton of subscribers which were constantly growing as well as keeping all their subscribers too who were very happy with the way BT Sport brought the UFC coverage.

Then they decide to be like "Oh I know, UFC is getting popular now shall we try make a lot of money off these fans too" and it's backfired, instead of gaining subscribers they are losing subscribers and getting (what it looks like) very minimal PPV buys as opposed to cancellations.

 

[GSP Rush]

The link to the petition some fans have started: https://www.change.org/p/btsports-stop-btsports-charging-ppv-for-ufc-in-the-uk

Feel free to share that and sign if you feel you'd like to. As mentioned previously, this video here where the Irish guys talk about it have pretty much nailed it and the petition is in the description for the video also if you browse it on Youtube.



Feel free to share the video too as anyone who doesn't understand why this is a bad idea, those guys absolutely nail it as to why.

 

[chubbman]

Watch the prelims on fightpass.
Go to bed at 3am
Download the main card next day

Like a boss