UFC Channel

 Do it.

 Also, you could have fighter commentary. So, lets say you do a Randy Couture marathon one night. You can have him doing commentary on the fights as they are playing. (What he was thinking, trying to do in the fight etc, just like you have directors commentary on movies)



While at current events you can have fighters come in and do little spots talking about their past fights. So, you could splice in to the events, little interviews with each fighter about the lead in to the fight, how it affected their careers and so on.



That actually creates a reason for existing fans to re-watch each event. (Multiply that by the hundreds of events they have, it creates 700+ hours of new content from existing content)

  

 They could big brother style TUF, we could all tune in and watch them sleep!

 Best idea in a long time.

Great fucking idea.

You could also have TUF tryouts on there before the show begins on Spike.



They are doing the UFC GYM thing, so they could work that in by having a weekend workout show on the channel to attract the P90X, fitness crowd, while pushing the gyms.



The ring girls could do a weekly show to attract the women. (And guys, lol)

 

RedCoat - They'd run out of material before three months was gone.


New content is constantly coming in via the latest UFC, WEC, UFN and TUF events. Plus, they would certainly be incorporating new unique nightly/weekly content. SO the existing content would go a very long way.



Plus, as fans, do we ever really get tired of watching fights? (even the old old ones)



Also, by incorporating the PPV's into the channel, the channel has two purposes. One, to create a monthly revenue base for Zuffa, while giving us a one-stop place to watch the events, without having to order every event. Two, access to the entire Zuffa catalog, plus new unique content.



So, there is an incentive to subscribe whether you just do so for the PPV's or if you like to watch the old content. Either way it doesnt really matter.

 

 Hell yes I'd pay 24.95 a month for a UFC channel.



Great ideas, Kangaroo!

Then they have the video game. They could have an hour show with the best online fights of the week. Simulate upcoming fights etc. Have a tournament for the best players in the country etc. Show tips-tricks.



They could do behind the scenes, for the production of the live events.



Cover the UFC expo's.



etc





 

RedCoat - Yeah but 24.95 a month? The UFC is already 44.95 multiple times a month from people and they don't have to invest all this money into a network channel.



Creating a TV channel would surely cost more money than it's worth when you take into consideration the fact that they pretty much have a guarantee subscription base out there that are will to spend fifty bucks multiple times a month just to watch the PPVs.



Sorry I got caught up in the devils advocate mode, good idea nonetheless.


 They have a boatload of content, so they dont have to produce as much new content as you would think. (Aside from things like a Joe Rogan show, Ariel interview show, UFC-Center etc)



But consider. For every casual fan that buys a UFC at $50, how many of them dont buy every event? By attracting casuals to by the channel at a reduced rate, you gauruntee a flow of cash without the flucuations. Plus, they dont have to abandon the regular PPV model for one-off customers. But, by having the PPV's on the channel, they actually could make more money by not having to split such huge $ with the PPV providers, who take large cuts of the PPV money. If your base crowd is viewing via the channel then a larger portion of the income is going directly to you.



Think about it though. Even if they had 100k subscribers, thats roughly 30m a year in revenue, outside of advertising the channel could generate, Spike revenue, Versus revenue, video games, merchandising etc.

WWE tried this a few years ago and failed epicly because they couldn't keep it going 24/7. They have WAY more content then the UFC does.



So now they stick to WWE onDemand which every week they put up new content.



If UFC actually did this, it wouldn't last 2 months.

 

crowbar - 

They have UFC OnDemand with Comcast Cable.




 anything but comcast!! 

KirbyLovesTacos - WWE tried this a few years ago and failed epicly because they couldn't keep it going 24/7. They have WAY more content then the UFC does.



So now they stick to WWE onDemand which every week they put up new content.



If UFC actually did this, it wouldn't last 2 months.

 


If the UFC tied it to their PPV's, it would exist on two different levels. One, as a vehicle for a "season pass" for live events and secondly for existing and new, unique content.



Id be curious if the WWE tried to use it for PPV's, or only for existing content. You have any links?

 The only thing I can find on the WWE is that they are planning a channel, or were as of 6-7 months ago.



http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/item_JfidqECOFsR37tZgNc8bpM;jsessionid=012FBAE38DAB3CCC8522AA83359E5109

The Kangaroo - 
KirbyLovesTacos - WWE tried this a few years ago and failed epicly because they couldn't keep it going 24/7. They have WAY more content then the UFC does.



So now they stick to WWE onDemand which every week they put up new content.



If UFC actually did this, it wouldn't last 2 months.

 


If the UFC tied it to their PPV's, it would exist on two different levels. One, as a vehicle for a "season pass" for live events and secondly for existing and new, unique content.



Id be curious if the WWE tried to use it for PPV's, or only for existing content. You have any links?

It doesn't matter if they used PPV or not. They still have more content alone on Raw and Smackdown then Zuffa has in it's entire product.



WWE Raw alone has nearly 900 episodes, thus leading to over 1,800+ hours of content maybe even more to the multiple 3 hour shows they did.

 

WWE Smackdown has 566 episodes, thus leading to 1,200+ hours.



Not to mention the other shit they have, they basically own ECW and WCW.



If it didn't work out for WWE. It won't work out for the UFC period. People will eventually have seen all the content UFC will have available in a 3 month span and realize they shouldn't be paying for reruns.

KirbyLovesTacos - It doesn't matter if they used PPV or not. They still have more content alone on Raw and Smackdown then Zuffa has in it's entire product.



WWE Raw alone has nearly 900 episodes, thus leading to over 1,800+ hours of content maybe even more to the multiple 3 hour shows they did.

 

WWE Smackdown has 566 episodes, thus leading to 1,200+ hours.



Not to mention the other shit they have, they basically own ECW and WCW.



If it didn't work out for WWE. It won't work out for the UFC period. People will eventually have seen all the content UFC will have available in a 3 month span and realize they shouldn't be paying for reruns.



The WWE are still in the process of developing a channel based on what I could find. (Press releases from 7-8 months ago)



Youre missing the point though. If its tied to PPV's, the existing content is not the only driving factor in subscribing. If you are paying a flat fee of 24.95 a month and getting all of the live PPV's, you are getting value that justifies the subscription price regardless of your desire to watch the new or existing content. (Which has endless possibilities)



Plus its apples and oranges. I'm not sure what the replay value is for old matches and story lines for wrestling, but classic sporting events and boxing matches have a long shelf life. Nobody gets tired of watching old boxing matches, which is why ESPN Classic is filled with them. MMA fights will have a long shelf life, especially with the mass influx of new fans.



Once you sell fans on the value of using the channel for the PPV's, the existing content is icing on the cake.


^^^ Oh, that's not gonna happen. Their PPV numbers are doing just fine and they sometimes do 2 PPVs a month. 25 bucks isn't gonna cut it.

Give it another 3 years or so...they need original programming, can't just show events and greatest KO's.

KirbyLovesTacos - ^^^ Oh, that's not gonna happen. Their PPV numbers are doing just fine and they sometimes do 2 PPVs a month. 25 bucks isn't gonna cut it.


 You have to consider things though.



One, PPV revenue gets split with the provider. So, youre not losing as much money as you would think. The PPV provider would have no hand in the channel revenue. Also, we are talking about a percentage of the fanbase, not everyone. With 100-200k subscribers, you are talking about a fluctuation of 10-25% of the average PPV buyers. Whatever money they lost on this group (minor at best) would be recouped in the money the channel could bring in via advertising.



Second, the casual one-off buyers would still be able to purchase the events as usual.



This is all overlooking the major bonus, which is having a steady stream of revenue, rather than having fluctuations based on each singular event. Its much easier to sell quality over a year period, than it is for any single event.





 

goeb - Give it another 3 years or so...they need original programming, can't just show events and greatest KO's.


Original programming would be incorporated into the channel. (Many examples listed in thread) What incentive is there now for original programming, beyond events and TUF, without an exclusive channel to house it? (And more importantly who would want to air it?)



Look at the history of the NFL channel. The channel at first was largely just a library of classic games/footage. They started producing original content to supplement the existing classic games which helped drive interest. Once they started incorporating live games into the channel, creating more demand, the network picked up steam.



If the UFC based a channel around live content (PPV) and created original content to supplement the existing library of events and shows, it could work very well.