Media UFC now forcing British fans to pay PPV fee to watch certain events on BT Sport
- Thread starter Phisher
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2015
- Messages
- 353
- Reaction score
- 0
Haaaaahahahaha
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2013
- Messages
- 20,930
- Reaction score
- 10,983
I live in California. I honestly don't understand how anyone outside of the MDT, PST, or AST zones stays awake for these damned things, unless you're all just sober every time.
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2005
- Messages
- 17,312
- Reaction score
- 7,753
fiGhTers DesERve beTTeR pAY
omG THeY wAnt tO cHaRGe US $$!
omG THeY wAnt tO cHaRGe US $$!
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2017
- Messages
- 325
- Reaction score
- 0
i don't get free access to boxnation on mine? wonder why
yeah i also am a boxing fan but as you say most of the good fights are also going PPV, (how Fury Schwarz was PPV level i will never know)
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2017
- Messages
- 325
- Reaction score
- 0
yeah but we know this is not going to the fighters just lining the pockets of people in an office rather than putting their lives on the line
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2017
- Messages
- 325
- Reaction score
- 0
yeah, totally writes off your whole weekend if there is a good card on that you don't want to risk being ruined/spoiled before you have a chance to catch up, Saturday you waste trying to nap so you stay up, and sunday is a write off as you are done in from staying up til 7am, pay for the privilege when i already pay for the channel no thanks
plus i bet they replay it on standard TV later in the week anyway!
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2012
- Messages
- 30,088
- Reaction score
- 3,283
I at least watch the football, so it makes it worthwhile, but I feel most sorry for the guys and gals that are only paying to watch the UFC. £240+ p/a extra? GTFO
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2010
- Messages
- 3,642
- Reaction score
- 2
That's all very well but i'd be very surprised if the ppv model picks up here. I will continue to watch through other means and I suspect many others will
Yep. There's no reason why it would pick up here... Most people in the UK don't even know what PPV stands for.
You can't introduce something bad and expect people to embrace it.
"Hi customers, we're introducing this new bad thing that will make your viewing experience worse AND you'll have to pay us more for this. Hope you like it!"
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2010
- Messages
- 10,845
- Reaction score
- 4,047
In CST, we get fucking hammered all night, and hit the after-party to drink coffee and watch the main events. Something about being hyper caffeinated and barely coherent makes watching fights enjoyable.
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2013
- Messages
- 20,930
- Reaction score
- 10,983
My body aches just imagining this. As it is, I'm usually passed out by 11 on fight nights from the prolonged boozing.
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2009
- Messages
- 22,730
- Reaction score
- 2,857
Yeah, that's the one with the video on Youtube too, hopefully it'll get around enough and enough people will support it. That video with the Irish guys speaking about it completely nail it, have a listen if you haven't already
Yeah, honestly, I feel exactly the same as you but if one person says they'll buy it cause it won't make a difference, then a load of others buy it due to that then they've got all their buys and will do it again, so they really are just trying to see what they can do in regards to getting as much as they can from the UFC fans over this as well as the fact they promised and made it out that they wouldn't do this. They used the fact UFC was available to everyone as part of their BT Sport package to get everyone back after the Eleven Sports deal fell through.
It's already been confirmed by Dave Shaw this is a pure BT Sport decision, it's obvious anyway but when they get the rights it's up to them to distribute it how they want and profit from it in their own way. The UFC are happy their product is getting out there to the UK fans and growing because this benefits them anyway (events, all year merchandise sales as well as the sport continuing to grow). BT Sport are just hurting the UFC and themselves by doing this.
Hopefully they'll rectify this before the event but I doubt it, they're going to want to see if fans will cave. If people buy it, they'll do it again, if they don't, they won't so that's what it all boils down to in the end.
I would talk to anyone I could about it except the fact
I work in a demograph which should cater to the average ufc fan
(Construction work with a lot of 20-35 year olds)
And I’m literally the only person that even knows what mma or ufc is
It’s still such a niche sport in the UK it blows my mind they would try this
Sure they sell out the o2 or the MEN etc
So what
Casual fan pricks will buy those tickets just to have a night out
But buy a PPV and get up at 3am? LOL
Nope
This whole thing is just pure greed and like I said in previous post a 1000 buys is 20 grand
That could pay for the marketing team all year and they are gunna love that because our voices aren’t loud enough
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2010
- Messages
- 10,845
- Reaction score
- 4,047
The next day definitely makes me question a lot of my life decisions.
- Joined
- May 7, 2016
- Messages
- 42,438
- Reaction score
- 20,355
Americans pay considerably more for cable and ppv. You're not going to get a lot of sympathy.
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2006
- Messages
- 2,155
- Reaction score
- 1,733
The issue, is that you get to choose which events you pay for. The UK we have to pay a $35 per month subscription for the channel that carries UFC PPV, regardless of whether you are interested in the card. Would the average US viewer fork out $420 annually on PPV?
Personally, I'm delighted to now have the option to only pay for the cards I'm interested in.
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2013
- Messages
- 20,930
- Reaction score
- 10,983
The feeling the morning after imbibing too much alcohol and energy drinks is truly horrendous, second only to narcotics.
Yep, spot on! A lot of my friends like the UFC through me and are getting into it but there's a handful of people who don't "get" the UFC still or haven't got into it, they all think that Boxing is better which is fair enough (they're entitled to like what they like) but as much as I don't mind and quite like a bit of Boxing it's nothing compared to UFC. UFC constantly have good fights all the time where as Boxing you'll get one every 6 to 9 months or something, Boxing fights can often be boring (Josh Warrington the other night was full of boxing fans complaining how it was a boring fight), sure you get boring fights in UFC but you can guarantee, even when a low carded event is on you're gonna get some great fights and entertainment which happens more in UFC than it does in Boxing (which also goes the other way). Plus Boxing is just that, Boxing, the fights are just boxers going up against each other where as with the UFC there is not only so much competition and heart between the fighters it's full of different styles (including Boxing) that it makes the competition much bigger, better and varied.
UFC is so much better (in my opinion of course) and it frustrated me when Boxing fans who haven't even really watched UFC other than caught the odd fight in the background or something turn round and say "UFC is shit" or "It's all about Boxing" yet they don't know anyone other than Conor McGregor. They don't know the fighters, they don't know the divisions so they don't get how good it is when a fight say if Justin Gaethje vs Dustin Poirier was announced, or when Al Iaquinta, Tony Ferguson, Max Holloway, Anthony Smith, Ben Askren, Robbie Lawler (the list is endless) are announced in fights how it's much better than say Tyson Fury vs Tom Schwarz or Josh Warrington vs Kid Galahad, as good as those fighters are they never bring anything close to the fights UFC bring (Take Cub Swanson vs Doo Ho Choi for example) and this is what I feel they're missing out on but they just simply don't know it and they'll see the odd fight where say two guys (or girls) are hugging each other on the floor with some wrestling style for a few moments and completely dismiss it from then.
Point is, you're absolutely spot on in regards to how the sport is growing because a lot of people are just getting to know UFC here now and when they do (as a few of my friends have) they then start to really enjoy it, love it, get to know the fighters, the divisions and then you start hearing them say how UFC is better than Boxing in many ways, one being how they constantly bring us exciting fights then a few weeks later we have another exciting fight always to look forward to where as with Boxing you've to wait 6 or 8 months or something to get one good fight, it's just completely different and better BUT that's not to say Boxing isn't good or enjoyable (it is!) though what I'm trying to say is a lot of people are playing catch up and just getting into the UFC at the moment, as casuals right now, until they get to know the sport, the fighters, the divisions, the competition and the events more which is where they then become huge fans of the sport and realise how good it really is as well as the fact there's more to it and always something to be excited for.
And I'm seeing these friends being disappointing in Boxing more, talking less about Boxing and being excited about, talking about and made up about various UFC fights happening whether that's from an announcement or after watching an event and they're talking about certain fights from that event and this is coming from friends who were (and are) huge fans of boxing but I can see this now when they start to get into UFC where they start to see and favour UFC that little bit more to the point where they're looking forward to UFC events more than the Boxing one's. I'm hearing them talk more about UFC than Boxing because they've got into it, got to know it through myself etc.. and we really look forward to UFC events all the time now, we barely even speak about Boxing give and take the odd one now and why, because they've been watching it, got into it and see what it's about and the fighters and competition it has.
I'd never diss Boxing because I do feel it's a great sport and we also get some good fighters with great heart in the Boxing world too but it's not anything close to UFC with that and a lot of fans simply don't know the UFC enough to be able to see this and will just dismiss it before even getting into it.
A lot of them who diss UFC as opposed to Boxing, if I ask them to name some fighters they never can other than Conor and possibly Khabib (that guy Conor fought they refer to) and that's about it.
Point is, what you mentioned there about them being on Box Office and with the people you work with is exactly the same for me with friends and my brothers friends too, my brothers friends mainly are the one's who say UFC is shit but they've never even really watched it other than brief clips and fights they've caught and even then they're not watching it properly, it's like in the background yet I know that the more they do that and the more they see it they are going to (and will) on a whole come round to it, get it, understand it, love it and enjoy it.
The sport is still growing here and this is why it's important to be showcased the way BT Sport were showcasing it cause none of them will even care about missing it in general let alone paying for it at stupid o'clock on a Box Office channel, it's just hurting the sport and the growth of the sport right now which is also very frustrating.
Along the lines of the fact BT Sport haven't even distributed their Box Office channel to a lot of platforms they have other loyal paying BT Sport subscribers through (who also subscribe specifically for UFC and is why they have those subscribers) which as I mentioned earlier is just selfish and a kick in the teeth to those fans by taking it away from them without caring if they can access it for the sake of pure greed.
But yeah, you're spot on and they really need to see this instead of being greedy which as of now, is all it is from BT Sports trying to push it to see how much they can make off us and to see if we cave (which hopefully we won't).
You nailed it with that!
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2006
- Messages
- 18,457
- Reaction score
- 3,577
I was just curious what you pay across the pond. I still haven't seen a monthly breakdown for everything like I gave. I'm converting it online but my own would be like 55 pounds for basic internet, 40 pounds for a basic TV package including ESPN and ESPN 2 but no premium channels like HBO or even ESPN+ which we have to subscribe to now in order to buy the PPVs. Fight pass is another 7-8 pounds if we want to be able to watch all the prelims. Then finally about 48 pounds for every PPV ordered.
And like I said, i wasn't criticizing your view about the price increase or looking to argue but why not go to bed at a reasonable hour and set your alarm to wake up for the PPV then sleep a couple more hours after? A lot of us older fans used to do that for Pride events back in the day.
