Dana " PPV Price Hike is an ESPN Decision "

LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White isn’t thrilled fight fans are being asked to pay more money to watch his promotion’s biggest events.

Beginning with Saturday’s UFC 270 card, the price of UFC pay-per-view events in the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries that require purchase for numbered shows is set to go up. The fee for fans in the U.S. will increase from $69.99 to $74.99, and the announcement this past week largely was met with a frustrated reaction.

Although critics have gone after White and the UFC for trying to gouge more money out of the fans, the decision, according to White, was one made by broadcast partner and pay-per-view carrier ESPN. The company raised prices by $5 roughly one year ago, and White admitted he wasn’t keen on it happening again.

“We don’t have any say in that,” White told MMA Junkie post-fight at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 32 in Las Vegas. “We gave the pay-per-views to ESPN, so yeah, that’s their decision. You know how I feel about that stuff. I don’t love when prices get raised, but it’s not my decision. It’s theirs.”
Not long after the UFC signed its broadcast deal with ESPN to begin in January 2019, a shift was made from hosting pay-per-view on traditional satellite and cable carriers to putting them exclusively behind a paywall on ESPN+.

According to White, that change placed the power in the hands of the ESPN brass, and the shot-callers have since opted to boost prices on multiple occasions.

The Disney machine is running at full steam

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$300 year / $20 a month

Should be the model

All events.
Every fight
Streamed

I don’t understand how in 2022 we still don’t have access to all fights under a easy and simple paid sub model instead of this overpriced ppv model

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If their sales took a hit… then maybe

But as of yet, they haven’t.

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tee

They haven’t had a card worth more than $55 for a long fucking time now.

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I remember when White took over the UFC and he’d criticize boxing for pricing out fans for PPV’s and tickets, it didn’t take him long to do the same. Yah ESPN did 2 smaller pay increases, the rest was Zuffa.

This place used to be about supporting the sport, encouraging people to buy PPV’s to “support the fighters”. Now I feel the opposite, people buying the PPV’s are responsible for these outrageous prices, at what point will they say enough is enough with this outdated model?

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Imagine if that extra $5 went to the fighters. Each fighter would make an extra $60k a year based off last years ppv numbers.

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Just like it was Reebok’s fault when Zuffa robbed fighters of making money from apparel sponsorships?

Dana gonna Dana.

Paying for a Zuffa PPV is voting for the centralization and dilution of the sport of MMA. Don’t do it.

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if the UFC is handing over its economic modelling to an insolvent entity like ESPN, they are in trouble.

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Maybe Disney wants to pick a fight with Endeavor?

Why didn’t he go all BUILT LIKE A FIGHTER and act tough until he got what he wanted, like that article said back in the day.

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Why would you pay $300 a year when $20 x 12 is $240?

Lol

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IPTV is $10/month for 5k channels.

Fuck UFC.

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I think he means you should get screwed if you pay up front for the year and get a discount if you pay monthly

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$75 ufc ppv :flushed::flushed::flushed: I’d never pay that

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Does ESPN plus at least give the option to go back and watch previous PPVs like Fite.tv does?