L.Fertitta confirms UFC no longer being shown on ESPN UK and IRE

Prettymuch all UFC cards are PPV here in oz.....Except the new fox cards..

So we know no better then having to pay top dollar to watch UFC....Though most pubs and clubs show them and as its generally on Sunday lunchtime here in oz its a good day with some mates at the pub...

 

There goes all the good streams.

 

Plus the UFC seem to hate ESPN after their second piece on the UFC butchered them.

 

good riddance to bad garbage

 

Sky maybe but I wouldnt be so sure. It all depends on the price the UFC want and whether Sky believe it drives subscriptions. I'm not sure it does. I mean how popular is UFC over here? I dont think its as popular some people think. Most people who have ESPN already have sky sports.

ESPN UK to finally get interested in boxing or not?

 

we used to get it on ASN out here in Asia, now that **** is dead too...annoying as hell

 

Sky is the perfect platform me thinks. I think the UFC is TV gold for the right channel. High quality production, a competative architecture, the NFL of MMA, regular events etc

You immediately acquire every single MMA fan in the country as the UFC have little competition and 99.9% of MMA fans watch it and enjoy it and support it. No TV channel can even get all the rights to all the tennis, football, cricket etc that matters. However, do a deal with the UFC and you get 99% of the MMA that matters to 99% of the market.

Outside of America, few people know SF and that includes UFC fans. Anyone with an IQ above 10 can see that orgs like BAMMA are small time in comparison. The UFC stands alone so Sky can plug the **** out of it and let the UFC do all the work on their own brand. No site fee, no commentators, no PPV, just good old marketing which doesn't have to stretch beyond their own platform (channels, website etc)

 

I dont know where else it would go, it would be a huge coup for any channel. I'd be seriously tempted to get Sky Sports again.

 

You talk a lot of sense, I hope Sky do pick it up.

 

what would sky do when a ufc event and US boxing card clash?

 

UFC on Sky Sports 1 and boxing on Sky Sports 2. Easy. Follow each with the other event and fans who want to watch both can watch them straight after each other.

It's not a problem when there are 4 channels.

 

Sky might not agree with that. Live broadcasts are expensive and they'd be hardly inclined to counterprogram their own broadcasts. To be honest that issue is the main reason why they don't already show UFC. UFC basically want the WWE deal. We give you all this content and you press play without asking any questions. Sky have never wanted to go all in like that. That may change with the FOX deal and their being less boxing for them to show.

That's one of the reasons why I thought there may be a chance of a Sky-ESPN deal, as is happening with a lot of other sports.

 

http://www.fightofthenight.com/news/ufc-to-air-on-fx-in-the-uk-after-current-espn-deal-ends/

"In an article after the UFC On FOX deal first emerged I suggested that when the promotion’s current deal with ESPN UK ends then it may well be that they pack their bags and head for pastures new on FX UK.

Comments from Dana White at Friday’s ‘UFC On FOX 1′ media conference call suggests that it indeed the direction that they are heading in.

The UFC president was asked how UK fans would get to see the first event on FOX in November he revealed they were still negotiating as this show falls outwith the contractual obligations of their ESPN UK deal.

However he then went on to shed light on the company’s longer term plans for the region.

“One of the many things I’m excited about being with FOX is, once all these [TV] deals are at the end of their term we would love to be with FOX over in the UK. We’re trying to figure all this stuff out, and I think once our deal has expired we will figure it out and we will get this whole UK-Ireland piece of this thing fixed.”

Of course FOX doesn’t exist over in the UK, so it’s actually FX UK that White is referring to and they certainly have a larger reach than ESPN UK, being available on both the SKY and Virgin Media platforms.

For those wondering, the UFC’s current deal with ESPN UK runs until August of 2012, so nothing’s going to happen immediately, but there’s been signs that all is not well between the two parties recently and the fact that White is already naming where he’d like to end up next would appear to confirm that is the case.

Personally I like the idea of the UFC aligning it’s interests under ‘FOX’ in more than one market to reduce the fragmented feel of the current arrangement and bring some sense of synergy to the proceedings.

Of couse in the big scheme of things FX UK does not have the same stature as either FOX or FX does in the States – an equivalent move in the British Isles would be to a major broadcaster like the BBC or ITV. Sadly at this stage that’s just not a viable option.

FOX are already showing indications of being ready to throw their weight behind the UFC’s push to prominence in the U.S, and it would be good to have them doing likewise in the UK."





Personally I think the reporters jumped to the FX conclusion a bit too quickly and this could mean Sky Sports, as its a Fox/News Corp affiliated company.

 

Maybe PreLims on FX, with the main card on Sky Sports?

 

I agree Jim. Its actually a shockingly badly researched article. Whenever I've heard Zuffa talk about leveraging their deal with FOX to get a better one here in the UK the focus has been on Sky.