Competition Pushes The UFC To Go Free With PPV’s
We all know that EliteXC has an upcoming event on October 4th featuring MMA stars Ken Shamrock, Kimbo Slice, Cyborg, Gina Carano among others. We all know that’s it for free, thanks to CBS Saturday Night Fights. And well all know that this is competition for market share for the UFC. So, just like last time, the UFC has responded with some free PPV airings. Now… airing a live PPV and airing a repeat of a Pay Per View are two different things. Most of us have already seen UFC 86, which will air for free on Spike TV, the same night, Oct 4th, that EliteXC will be airing live. We also have seen UFC 87 which will air free, October 11th, the same night that Affliction’s canceled PPV event was suppose to show. So why is the UFC going to these measures to air less competitive content? Which station will you be tuning into on October 4th? If you DVR or Tivo both airings, which will you watch in real time? I know that I’ll be sitting back watching EliteXC live rocking my Team Kimbo T-shirt.
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September 24th, 2008 at 11:57 am
The counter-programming by the UFC is actually very effective, at least in taking away viewers from other shows. It worked very well with Silva/Irvin and UFC 84, I believe they were.
UFC doesn’t necessarily have to top the competition’s show with their counter-programming, they just want to reduce another show’s success. And in that respect, they’ve been remarkable effective in their past few attempts.
Remember, although most MMA fans have seen UFC 86, a lot of casual viewers have not. To them, it will make no difference if it’s a re-run. In fact, more casual viewers might tune into UFC 86 just because they have heard of the UFC brand over EliteXC or even Kimbo.
September 24th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Some great points here. I particularly respect your point about casual viewers. Much appreciated response.