Comments on: 5 Oz. Feature: Breaking down the post-weekend MMA television landscape

By: mike wolfe

mike wolfe — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:12:27 +0000

#22

Yep. Didn’t see the press conference, so I didn’t hear the comments or the context in which they were made. Still doesn’t prove White was biased against Shogun, imo. White has a habit of answering questions in a straightforward and impolitic way, and he could make such a statement without having any dislike for Shogun.

By: Terrence Johnson

Terrence Johnson — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:42:15 +0000

“That was a pretty exciting fight, and Forrest’s win was perceived as an upset. Maybe they were caught up in the moment rather than showing bias against Shogun. Frankly, if two guys who spend their lives in MMA didn’t show some enthusiasm, I’d wonder more about that than the cheering.”

Did you miss the post-show comments from Dana about how overrated Pride fighters are?

By: Steve Barry

Steve Barry — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:19:37 +0000

Sam,

With Donald Trump’s stake in Affliction, what do you think about a deal with Affliction and NBC?

Donald obviously has solid ties with them from The Apprentice. I would think he would be using his influence with them to try and strike a deal. I assume NBC would want to see the quality of Affliction’s first show before doing anything with them, but if the show goes well, I think Affliction backed by Trump would be appealing to NBC.

Plus, Trump has a giant track record of success in nearly everything he does and has already produced a successful show on their network, so I would think NBC would feel more confident in him than perhaps someone they haven’t worked with before.

Affliction obviously has to get on TV somewhere to survive, and Trump doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to settle for anything less than the biggest stage.

Sure, NBC may move forward with Strikeforce, but who’s to say they can’t feature more than one promotion on their network.

Great article, btw.

By: Kogepan

Kogepan — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:45:15 +0000

Yeh, I don’t understand why Dana is so down on the EliteXC show, he should be EXCITED that the circus atmosphere and MMA-neophyte in Kimbo Slice could somehow garner 6.51 million. He should be able to easily sell the UFC brand + more well known fighters such as BJ/GSP etc to another network for a MUCH higher price because of what EliteXC did last weekend.

As for CBS/EliteXC, I really liked the show they put on from an entertainment prespective. The first 20 minutes and especially the Shamrock MMA instructional video were really good. GUS Johnson = REALLy Good, he’s easily a step above the Goldberg/ranallo types. The second show they put on will be even more important to see if they can maintain or increase the 6.51.

By: Trsigley

Trsigley — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:05:04 +0000

To me Gary Shaw is a straight up Promoter, like a Don King. I see Dana (Even though he irratates the crap out of me) as more of a commisioner like Goddell or Fehr. Let the UFC nuthugger comments commence.

By: Mike Wolfe

Mike Wolfe — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:36:17 +0000

#17

That was a pretty exciting fight, and Forrest’s win was perceived as an upset. Maybe they were caught up in the moment rather than showing bias against Shogun. Frankly, if two guys who spend their lives in MMA didn’t show some enthusiasm, I’d wonder more about that than the cheering.

By: Terrence Johnson

Terrence Johnson — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:15:25 +0000

Dana and Joe Silva were jumping up and down and celebrating like little schoolgirls at ringisde where everyone could see them after Forrest beat Shogun. They are far from objective in their public appearances.

By: Ross

Ross — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:49:05 +0000

WOW! one of your best articles.

“My prediction is that a year from now that ProElite will be out of the MMA business and SHOWTIME and CBS will be the primary owners of EliteXC”

I love your integrity- I believe you are also employed/sub contracted by pro elite, so that is a bold prediction. Hope you get no backlash. I love how you dont bow down to any promotion unlike some other journalist. (Im talking to you Kevin, you know who you are.)

By: Mike Wolfe

Mike Wolfe — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:10:19 +0000

A network deal would help UFC, obviously, but it shouldn’t relinquish control. Sam’s article alludes to one of the problems with networks: they take a successful show and try to copy it again and again. The knock-offs are usually unsuccessful and inferior, and the audience tires of them and the original because they are perceived as formulaic and cliche. Elite’s flashiness and theatrics aren’t a substitute for quality fights, and UFC knows it. Uninitiated networks executives don’t, and may assume that all they need is a light show, some dancers, a few burly buys, and some over amplified music. If that becomes the formula for network MMA, die-hard fans will be angry and new fans may lose interest.

By: jaydog

jaydog — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:00:57 +0000

Ruined it? Ruined what? I’m really curious what it is that hardcore fans are seeking to preserve. Is it the integrity of the sport or is it some kind of special fan status as a first, pre-TUF/pre-Kimbo/pre-Pride acquisition. There are so many places to draw the line. Where does it end? Who is allowed into the club? When did you let go of the Gracies as the model of fighting perfection? There is no perfect possessor of the appreciation of the sport. People are drawn to different aspects of combat sports for different reasons and those tastes have a pretty quick learning curve. I’m excited to see people learning about the sport. If they’re really interested, they’ll get more educated about it through repeated exposure. I think that most of us have something important in common with all of the new MMA fans. We like free fight cards.

By: Derek B.

Derek B. — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:31:52 +0000

Saturday Nights could have ruined it for us hardcore fans. I have friends that are trying to tell me what MMA is about because they watched the show Saturday night. They all think Kimbo is “the best fighter” I’m sick of hearing about the hype around kimbo. They could have created a show based around kimbo fighting scrubs in a parking lot and they would have probably had the same rating.

UFC needs to get on the ball and shoot hard for FOX network.

By: jaydog

jaydog — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:03:25 +0000

Sam, What do you think of the possibility that after the CBS show, uninitiated fans sought out more free fights and wound up watching Versus on Sunday night? The stoppages may have even left some folks looking for some closure. My point is, all boats rise with MMA’s increased exposure.

I’ve been waiting for your mega-article on MMA’s mainstream prospects since late Saturday night. Over the past few days, my comments to quell the hysteria have been met with much condemnation on every MMA blog. I think the hardcores are gonna have to relinquish a bit of perceived ownership.

My neighbors (two guys in their mid-thirties) had me over to watch the fights Saturday/Sunday on their HD set. They’re relatively new to the sport and they dug both events. The only difference is that the WEC had every one of us yelling at the screen and awestruck by the level of talent. They could take or leave my constant narration, and just wanna see more Faber and Carano.

By: Evan

Evan — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:44:30 +0000

“#7 Since the WEC is owned by the UFC what would be the difference?”

There is much less pageantry with the WEC. Its very straightforward…fighters come out, they fight, done. Its always been that way even before Zuffa bought it when it aired on HDnet.

By: HexRei

HexRei — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:24:47 +0000

@#9 technically it’s owned by Zuffa, which does indeed also own the UFC but is not “the UFC”. WEC and UFC work together to a degree but are separate entities and are treated as such by the Fertittas.
IIRC they have even aired simultaneously (and thus in competition) on their respective networks (Spike and Versus) a couple of times in the past.

By: Trsigley

Trsigley — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:04:34 +0000

#7 Since the WEC is owned by the UFC what would be the difference?

By: JOe K.

JOe K. — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:37:11 +0000

I think the WEC has the best shot at mainstream success. It is the classiest show.

By: matt

matt — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:16:04 +0000

I really hope the WEC gets the network deal and not UFC. Just because I agree with your assessment that it is the pure sport of Zuffa.

By: Jose Santos

Jose Santos — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:15:00 +0000

Dude you have spell Roone Arledge’s name right – he is the most significant executive in sports tv history. Please get an editor.

By: bjjdenver

bjjdenver — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:55:18 +0000

EXC–I realize that Saturday Night Fights wasn’t aimed at me, but rather the casual/new fan. i watch as much mma as I can, and to some extent, I found it exciting. However, i realized that the card did not show the reality of mma, it was more a night of slugfests, rather than a battle of strategies and styles that we so commonly refer to as a physical chess match. Unfortunately, I think EXC failed in that aspect, they didn’t really bring mma as we know it, to the masses. If I was a new fan and tuned in, i certainly would have understood why mainstream media has referred to it as brutal and unskilled fighting. I realize they needed to showcase a guy like Kimbo, in order to draw fans, but it was not very representative of the sport as a whole. I can only hope they find a way to market their more highly skilled guys, like Shields, Diaz, Silva and others.

UFC-If Dana can quit being pig headed for a minute, he should be able to develop just about any network/high profile cable (ESPN??) deal he wants. They have better talent and a much deeper pool to draw upon.

WEC-My friends, most of whom are more casual fans, watched both nights with me. They found EXC entertaining, but were 100% blown away by WEC. That’s all that needs to be said.

Strikeforce-Coming to NBC primetime sooner than we might think. Or how about a Saturday afternoon card scheduled prior to a UFC event. I know it would be great for us hardcore fans, but I’m not sure casual fan would watch 6 hours of mma.

IFL-needs to get more eyes on their excellent product. Does HDNet have a deal with comcast yet? How about a one week tape delay of their full shows on Fox Sports or such? They need their fighters in other promotions, beating up the other guys stars, lol.

Affliction-Interesting to see how Trump affects their future. The Donald is NOT about losing money, but he may have some influence in areas they need (TV?).

What a great summer for mma!

By: Zack

Zack — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:45:43 +0000

Excellent write-up Sam. Very balanced and well-thought out as always.

Couple of thoughts – I think the EliteXC ratings success are nearly 100% the result of Kimbo’s participation and the interest he brings from a Lowest Common Denominator perspective. I think the real litmus test is if the next CBS show doesn’t have him on it – what do the ratings look like then? If the next show does feature Kimbo, and he gets soundly beaten by a real fighter like Rogers/Silva/etc., then what? Who have they built up that will appeal to the idiots that want to tune in to see an exploding ear?

Highest hopes – Strikeforce and WEC. WEC would be perfect for ESPN, but I think ABC would swallow it whole and get lost. The ratings wouldn’t be nearly as good as CircusBS’s, and would look like a disappointment.