TNA has a show on fox sports and they have been around less then two years on ppv only. Zuffa really needs to get its ass in gear!
A wrestling group.
"Somethings wrong somewhere."
His name is Dana White, and he's a middle-age white-collar crackhead.
Pro wrestling has been around for a long, long time and is a proven ratings winner (which is not to say this will be a ratings juggernaut, but the past speaks for itself). The UFC is realtively new and unproved. Networks are still afraid of the stigma surrounding it I'm sure. Since everyone knows wrestling is fake, it's not as harmful as people believe UFC to be.
Once upon a time in a far away land, there was a sport that was becoming popular.............
Then a big bad warlord by the name of McCain declared in all the land, there shall be no violence in this kingdom, let them stifle themselves.........
And so it was, PPV's were thrown in the dungeon for a time.....
Many mourned, the unfaithful lost interest, but alas, such was the following of this strange & exciting sport, that it grew even though it was not nourished, but by a few (thousand) devoted followers........
Then to the amazement of many a folk in the kingdom, a knight appeared, in armor, ready to do battle for the hand of the lovely & fair UFC! Sir Dana of Zuffaville of Ferttida family slew the hated dragon of PPV resistance & brought forth an acceptable & ever growing fellowship.
The kingdom was allowed to view & enjoy their pastime........... at a cost but still a worthy enjoyment knowing & remembering well the sadness of doing without...........
But among the village by a few, grew distemper, not understanding the evolution of things to appear, expecting immediate magic & not able to enjoy the coming of great things...............
And if you walk alone at night in this magical kingdom, you can hear whispers calling in the dark..........Soon friends & neighbors............ soon........... anticipation makes things sweeter.............
not the end........................ :-)
With the wrestling Boom of the late 90's over it was not easy for tna t get a tv deal. Zuffa had its chance with fox net a few years ago and blew it.
People just love to blame Dana White and Zuffa for everything these days, and maybe the ball was fumbled in this case, I don't know, but you don't know either. That wrestling doesn't have the same negative stigma as the UFC, and has a proven fan base, undoubtedly played a roll in TNA scoring a deal where the UFC could not.
Oh sir warmonkey of MMA land, dost thou not realize this wrestling you speak of is fake? Dost thou not know a rose by any other name still has thorns?
By chance does though knowest of the future with which we speak? What magical powers have thee acquired for thy wisdom... pray tell?
Kellett and his analogy are 100% correct.
Wrestling IS, HAS BEEN and ALWAYS will be a driving force in
Cable ratings, the UFC and MMA in general in the US struggles
with 8 out of 10 PPV shows these days.
Any network will look at that and run. If the PPV buy rate is low,
what makes you think a major cable company will put time,
money and effort into something that doesn't harbour the
MAJORITY interest ?
Tack on the fact that the stigma surrounding MMA in the US is
still in the negative column for the most part, and you won't see
networks falling all over themselves trying to sign any MMA
promotions. MMA in Canada is MUCH stronger than it is in the US
and that my friends is FACT.
TSN (Canada's ESPN) airs not only the UFC, but used to air the
UCC/TKO shows. The only reason that they no longer air the
UCC/TKO shows is because they (TSN) doesn't feel the new
product from UCC/TKO is as strong as it once was. Jon Kellett
would know what he's talking about in regards to this issue
having been my co-host during UCC/TKO's last run on TSN before
we left due to UCC/TKO's reputation in here in Canada.
Bottom line, until MMA is accepted by the majority, it will remain
in the minority. TV is a big deal, MMA in the US at this time, is
unfortunately not a big enough deal. People will argue that "...it
WOULD be a big deal if they aired it so people could see it etc,
etc, etc..." but the networks WILL NOT see it that way today,
tomorrow or the next day.
Sad, but very true.
J.T.McCarthy
LOL at some of you morons. You can't compare UFC getting on TV with a Pro Wrestling group getting on TV. They are two completely different things. Wrestling has an established track record of doing very well on TV, mma does not. I'd bet my right nut that's why TNA or whatever got a deal so quickly. Putting an mma promotion on TV is a much bigger risk.
Also, wrestling has a huge EXISTING fan base that a TV network can target. MMA still needs to CREATE that fan base.
Momita,
well put!
Warmonky,
Do you know how many production companies have potential deals with networks in one given season? Hundreds!
...and there are usually only a few open timeslots. So please tell me how Zuffa "blew" it with Fox. I'd really like to know what your logic is.
pro wrestling has a proven trackrecord of being totally and undeniably retarded as well. the reason they are allowed is because EVERYONE knows pro wrestling is fake and they probably wont see any blood thats not fake or cut with a razor.
TNA pays 15 grand a week for their timeslot. It's paid programming. Zuffa had the same deal available to them but they realize that once you pay for TV time you will always pay for TV time.
Yeah the UFC are idiots because even slamball could get a tv deal. Please.
JT, I was wondering why TKO was not on TSN anymore. Hopefully shut up and fight can take it's place.
Let's not forget what Dana White and Zuffa have done for the sport. Before Zuffa took over, the UFC wasn't on cable PPV in the states and were not sanctioned in Vegas.
Ummm....unless I missed something since yesterday the UFC DOES have a TV deal
I think Ghost should be banned.
He is constantly making comments like the one on this thread about Dana. Everyone is allowed to an opinion even if it's a stupid opinion.....but he never states an opinion, just writes things like "Dana is a crack head" Not exactly constructive criticism :(
ghost seems to let his bias and hatred stand in the way, but I think he's a good contributor in general.
What a gay thread this is though... Pro Wrestling is NOT MMA.
Puroresu is gay.
Ghost always has something good to contribute.
Peter,
It'll happen my good man, steps are already being made in the
right direction to 2 different networks, one of them of course
being TSN again.
All of the correct measures are being taken and things look
excellent thus far !
Take care sir,
J.T.
TSN is a beautiful thing. You gotta love it.