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The Yahoo-UFC mega-deal
By Zach Arnold | February 21, 2008
So there was a press release on Thursday announcing that Yahoo will stream UFC PPvs online for $44.95 USD/show. (Good luck with that, boys.)
Naturally, UFC pushed this deal hard on their conference call.
Reaction to the news has been mixed. Fightlinker is cautiously optimistic, while Luke Thomas is sounding the alarm bells.
I’ll have further thoughts about this deal on the next edition of Fight Opinion Radio, a truly perfect radio show that does not fall victim to any of these criticisms. UNLEASH A MONSTER… TODAY.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 14 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
I love the radio show, but “unleash a monster… today” has been haunting me in my deepest, darkest nightmares for a while.
That’s just crazy – I would never, ever pay that much for a Internet Stream!
Very true – your show is perfect aside from that scary commercial. Have you showed Monster the Fightlinker spoof of their ad?
An insane price that very few people will pay. Most people that have high speed Internet will also have cable or satellite TV. Why would they pay the same price for a stream? If they are looking for overseas buys they are crazy. That price will be prohibitive for most cultures on this planet. Definitely a misstep by UFC.
These prices are the same as they charged for streams from their own site I believe. I find them completely rediculous. They charge $10 more for HD but no less than the regular PPV price for a crappy stream? Nice.
Any PPV streaming through the Internet – with the current quality of streaming – should be no more than $15, tops.
This is the kind of bullshit that’s pushing Internet piracy. People who would normally pay for things are saying “At this price, I’ll find a way to steal/download the show instead”.
At $29.95 I would probably buy virtually every UFC show, but at $44.95, I’m getting maybe 4 a year.
Remember guys, this is for international MMA viewers. I doubt the UFC really thinks that many US fans will shell out $45 for a web broadcast. If they do, they are idiots. Now that I took 2 seconds to think about it, I take that back, haha. The UFC probably thinks we will all buy it. Hopefully they won’t lose any more money with another dumb deal gone wrong.
Why pay $45.00 for a web broadcast, when you can just find matches of the event online later. Not that I condone that stuff, but that’s reality.
Streaming events thru Yahoo.com have been really good in my experience.
The Strikeforce events have been top quality. But not $45 quality.
This is the warning from Fertittas. “To the scums who download free UFC, be sure you owe us 45 bucks every time you fuckin’ steal our ppv on line.”
I like my Unleash a Monster commercial more
I would pay 10, maybe even 20 (split with a friend) for a really good show. Other than that. No way.
Eh, the Fertittas are little weasels. I’m going to watch UFC 84 for free unless big bad Dana puts more than 1 (maybe 2) good bout(s) on there. We’re not wannabe-rich boxing fans who drop their money on one fight. And Zach, I’m on the Blackberry, but I need to hear those Monster ads some more.
Who pays to see a live stream on the internet? Especially at full price. What a rip off. I liked the Strikeforce Yahoo! and Pro Elite live streams but those were free. The resolution and quality don’t warrant paying $45 for it. The online stream is only going to benefit those in countries where they don’t have TV access to UFC events. And even then, they are getting ripped off at $45.