Capslock17ny - MMALOGIC - g4 is only part of a wider comcast/nbc universal distribution deal.
Once the dust settles and spike calms down, Zuffa is gonna offer spike a live event product under the pride brand name... most likely in a tournament/grand prix format. Not as many shows as bellator but enough to hopefully keep them happy and keep that channel open for UFC countdown shows, UFC PPV commercials, and other hype shows etc...
Spike will have a choice of being able to continue to work with the only mma org that matters or take a gamble with bellator.
That post made a lot of sense, up until the point where you said that the UFC would bring Pride back. That shit is SO not happening. Good post though.
Zuffa wants to keep the spike relationship and that distribution channel to promote ppv's but for obvious reason cant with the UFC label.
The taped pride shows are doing great numbers on spike... Pride is also being pushed in the upcoming undisputed game release.
One of the concepts that will be brought up is a new developmental tournament product with the pride label. No ring, or crazy lady. Just bringing back the grand prix which looked to be a big success for Strikeforce. It will likely have UFC castoffs mixed with new prospects and winners heading into the UFC.
It will be a beta product that will eventually become a weekly live series under the UFC brand name (if it's a success) and once the audience is completely siphoned off of spike and that well becomes dry.
The other concept that's being brought up is just taking SF and placing it on spike once the showtime deal ends in the first quarter of the year if showtime decides not to renew.
its a shame because spike helped ufc get where its at today
they should continue being partners even if its part time like the versus channel
A big problem with G4 on Directv was that it was located in the boonies. Same with Versus. People just don't go to the low 600's where Versus is located. It's important to have a channel close to stuff that people surf. If Versus were in the low 200's next to all the ESPN channels it would do a lot better. Same for the new UFC channel. It they could get it put next to the NFL Network that would be huge but if it's in some area people don't normally surf to then it could be problems.
Not this G4 shit again. It wasn't in HD even when I had it on directv 
I watch G4 a lot already and as long as they don't get rid of all their good programs (which they probably will) then I don't have a problem with this. We get G4 in HD too.
KissMisery - RickMartelsArrogance - KissMisery -
The UFC NEEDS Spike.
No they don't.
OK.
Like the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA don't need ABC, CBS, ESPN?!
So they would just stream all of their content?
Please educate yourself. The UFC is not some self contained powerhouse that would be able to operate without a network.
They need a channel. That channel doesn't have to be spike.
pickledsoylentgreen - I watch G4 a lot already and as long as they don't get rid of all their good programs (which they probably will) then I don't have a problem with this. We get G4 in HD too.
G4 is awesome. Campus PD is hilarious.
RickMartelsArrogance - Pink Bunkadoo - and there are PLENTY of other great shows on that channel.
HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!
Manswers, 1000 Ways to Die, CSI reruns, and Storage Room Hunters = great shows???
I was onboard until you started to hate on 1000 ways to die. I expect an emmy any minute now for that masterpiece of a television show.
MMALOGIC - Capslock17ny - MMALOGIC - g4 is only part of a wider comcast/nbc universal distribution deal.
Once the dust settles and spike calms down, Zuffa is gonna offer spike a live event product under the pride brand name... most likely in a tournament/grand prix format. Not as many shows as bellator but enough to hopefully keep them happy and keep that channel open for UFC countdown shows, UFC PPV commercials, and other hype shows etc...
Spike will have a choice of being able to continue to work with the only mma org that matters or take a gamble with bellator.
That post made a lot of sense, up until the point where you said that the UFC would bring Pride back. That shit is SO not happening. Good post though.
Zuffa wants to keep the spike relationship and that distribution channel to promote ppv's but for obvious reason cant with the UFC label.
The taped pride shows are doing great numbers on spike... Pride is also being pushed in the upcoming undisputed game release.
One of the concepts that will be brought up is a new developmental tournament product with the pride label. No ring, or crazy lady. Just bringing back the grand prix which looked to be a big success for Strikeforce. It will likely have UFC castoffs mixed with new prospects and winners heading into the UFC.
It will be a beta product that will eventually become a weekly live series under the UFC brand name (if it's a success) and once the audience is completely siphoned off of spike and that well becomes dry.
The other concept that's being brought up is just taking SF and placing it on spike once the showtime deal ends in the first quarter of the year if showtime decides not to renew.
Makes some sense, I guess, but I still doubt it. They may be playing old Pride fights, they may even run a tourney. But the UFC's aim since day one was to be the NFL of MMA. I can see them doing everything you said, but actually doing it under the Pride banner kinda undercuts the idea of Pride.
Pride doesn't have the name recognition that the UFC has. I could see a grand prix happening, but a grand prix show under the Pride banner, with UFC castoffs and new prospects? That sounds a lot like TUF without the name recognition.
Could be wrong though. We'll see.
Matt Phillips - I have heard in the rumor mill, recently, that Bellator is for sale and close to being bought. Im not sure if its because of financial issues or not though, But, if Bellator is financially unstable, dont look for Spike to take them on.
Really? The UFC was over 50 million in the red when TUF-1 premiered. Spike was Zuffa's last resort before ending it. Spike was an obsure channel promoting a sport very few people watched. That scenerio had "fail" written all over it but look what happened.
Conversely, if Spike picks up Bellator, the scenerio is a much more well know channel promoting a very popular sport that already has a huge built in UFC audience. In fact, there are so many casual fans that if they had a Bellator-style TUF I think many casual mma fans wouln't even notice it wasnt actually the UFC. They would continue to call it UFC in the same way many people refer to a soda as "coke".
Soup and Beer - Matt Phillips - I have heard in the rumor mill, recently, that Bellator is for sale and close to being bought. Im not sure if its because of financial issues or not though, But, if Bellator is financially unstable, dont look for Spike to take them on.
Really? The UFC was over 50 million in the red when TUF-1 premiered. Spike was Zuffa's last resort before ending it. Spike was an obsure channel promoting a sport very few people watched. That scenerio had "fail" written all over it but look what happened.
Conversely, if Spike picks up Bellator, the scenerio is a much more well know channel promoting a very popular sport that already has a huge built in UFC audience. In fact, there are so many casual fans that if they had a Bellator-style TUF I think many casual mma fans wouln't even notice it wasnt actually the UFC. They would continue to call it UFC in the same way many people refer to a soda as "coke".
You are nuts if you think casuals wouldn't notice it was not the UFC. The fact that they literally haven't heard of a single fighter in the organization would probably be a tipoff for them. Eddie Alvarez and Joe Warren are not stars.
jjj2121 - You are nuts if you think casuals wouldn't notice it was not the UFC. The fact that they literally haven't heard of a single fighter in the organization would probably be a tipoff for them. Eddie Alvarez and Joe Warren are not stars.
Oh sure, many would notice. But you can't deny that probably 99% of the viewing population had never heard of a single UFC fighter when the first TUF was shown. And no one, even the hardcore fans had ever heard of any of the fighters on the actual show.
All I'm saying is that the UFC/TUF/Spike phenomenon was built up from practically scratch. A Spike/Bellator union would not be building from scratch. It's not a guarenteed success by any means, but lightning can strike twice sometimes.
At the time of TUF-1, The UFC was a financial failure and 50 million in the red. It's now a billion dollar empire and growing. The UFC today is a direct result of the TUF show and Spike. The UFC had had around 7 years before that to become a financial success and it failed.
Soup and Beer - jjj2121 - You are nuts if you think casuals wouldn't notice it was not the UFC. The fact that they literally haven't heard of a single fighter in the organization would probably be a tipoff for them. Eddie Alvarez and Joe Warren are not stars.
Oh sure, many would notice. But you can't deny that probably 99% of the viewing population had never heard of a single UFC fighter when the first TUF was shown. And no one, even the hardcore fans had ever heard of any of the fighters on the actual show.
All I'm saying is that the UFC/TUF/Spike phenomenon was built up from practically scratch. A Spike/Bellator union would not be building from scratch. It's not a guarenteed success by any means, but lightning can strike twice sometimes.
At the time of TUF-1, The UFC was a financial failure and 50 million in the red. It's now a billion dollar empire and growing. The UFC today is a direct result of the TUF show and Spike. The UFC had had around 7 years before that to become a financial success and it failed.
Agreed, but the UFC monster has outgrown what they used to be, the brand is monstrous. They don't need to be on Spike, they need to be on an available cable channel which I'm sure they will be.
as far as i'm concerned this is EXACTLY the case for Australia. (we actually get some g4 shows o our version of spike cause all the other shows don't rate!)
Soup and Beer - Matt Phillips - I have heard in the rumor mill, recently, that Bellator is for sale and close to being bought. Im not sure if its because of financial issues or not though, But, if Bellator is financially unstable, dont look for Spike to take them on.
Really? The UFC was over 50 million in the red when TUF-1 premiered. Spike was Zuffa's last resort before ending it. Spike was an obsure channel promoting a sport very few people watched. That scenerio had "fail" written all over it but look what happened.
Conversely, if Spike picks up Bellator, the scenerio is a much more well know channel promoting a very popular sport that already has a huge built in UFC audience. In fact, there are so many casual fans that if they had a Bellator-style TUF I think many casual mma fans wouln't even notice it wasnt actually the UFC. They would continue to call it UFC in the same way many people refer to a soda as "coke".
huge difference between having the first mover advantage in a market and being the johnny come lately.
Let's say pizza hut stops selling coke and instead starts selling rebney cola... are they going to sell anywhere near the same amount? fuck no... people are used to coke.
Will rebney cola sell more with pizza hut's distribution? yes.
But keep in mind... UFC is not the coal in pizza hut. It's the fucking pizza. UFC is the only reason people tune into spike.
Once the audience becomes conditioned to the new channels for UFC programming spike will become a desert.
Just take one channel: versus (what is being rebranded as NBC sorts) forget about the USA network, SCIFI, NBC major or G4.
Imagine for a moment that UFC moved to versus. Spike doesnt have UFC content anymore and versus has all the UFC content. What do you pray tell think is gonna happen?
within 6 months the audience will become conditioned to go to versus for the UFC.
You like a certain pizza shop... it moved to a different block. A far inferior pizza will be available shortly in the old spot... are you gonna be conditioned to click over to the new block or settle for eating shit?
When the WWE left spike and TNA came in... did TNA all of a sudden become real competition with the wwe? no... 5 years later and they barely carry the force of a pussy fart.
MonsterBalls - jjjj2121, how are you watching G4 in Orlando?
Brighthouse 1284 is G4 HD I believe.
i dont get hdnet versus or G4 and i pay 200 a month for cable phone and net with time warner. also, to the bear guy, calling mma ufc as in calling and adhisive strip a bandaid is called genrericizing a brand. youre right about that
TheNoCountBitchbing - i dont get hdnet versus or G4 and i pay 200 a month for cable phone and net with time warner. also, to the bear guy, calling mma ufc as in calling and adhisive strip a bandaid is called genrericizing a brand. youre right about that
i get G4 and Versus on my time warner cable.
KissMisery -
A company isn't going to strong arm a TV network what it wants or doesn't want.
The NFL does this all the time. They even got the networks to signs a deal that said they had to pay the NFL $4.5billion even if there was no NFL season.