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Question of the Day – UFC in the UK
By Zach Arnold | March 6, 2009
What would happen to their television situation if Setanta Sports collapses?
The London Telegraph: If British sport wants to keep the good times rolling then Setanta must survive
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 10 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Not good at all. Setanta is one of the biggest sports broadcasters in the UK with Sky Sports as its rival I believe.
So if UFC fails their only chance is Sky Sports. Bravo MIGHT pick them up again, but they don’t have a big audience share.
On a unrelated note: If Setanta Sports does die out, then I’ll fear for the Special One’s future and Special 1 TV. BE CHAMPIONS!!!!!11111
People fretting over the UFC’s UK future are probably those looking in from abroad.
Setanta do wonderful coverage, showing the events live, but more people watched it on Bravo because a lot more homes have that, If Senanta went bust, and the rights became available, then Sky Sports, Bravo or even a terrestrial (every TV in Britain) channel such as Five may take a gamble on it. Any option would result in a lot more viewers so they’re safe enough.
Hopefully Setanta stays afloat because they are good for competitiveness in the UK, as the Telegraph alude to, but Zuffa should be fine whatever happens.
They’d go back to Bravo.
They definitely can’t end up on Sky Sports. WWE’s UK TV contract with Sky is exclusive and prohibits the UFC by name from airing on that network.
Chris have you got a source to back that up.
I heard that the whole reason Sky decided to drop UFC after UFC’s first ever UK event was because Sky wanted more say in the production.
UFC is much bigger now though and would draw big ratings on Sky. Sky could probably go down the PPV route for some events also.
Setanta are gonna be in big trouble as most people who subscribe to setanta and sky sports are football/Soccer fans. Setanta lost the saturday night TV slot so there subscribers will leave.
I’d be surprised if a terrestrial channel were to pick the rights up.
The WWE events on Channel 4 were a total clusterf*ck, with them censoring blood and the like, even tho it was 3am in the morning. I know that was a few years ago but I imagine some bloodbath UFC fight with a guy getting pummelled with elbows would be met with shrieks of horror from certain sections of the press.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that the terrestrial rights for MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL may be up for grabs depending on what happens with C5. If a terrestrial channel were looking to pick up some sports rights to show in the middle of the night I’d imagine they’d be more attracted to one of the more established sports that they can program on a regular week by week basis. 3 and 4 have both dabbled in them in the past. I know the audiences are different, but still.
Finally, they’re all skint as far as I know! ITV are penniless, Five look to be axing the US sports studio shows to save money. I’d be shocked if the BBC were to pick up UFC. So that only leaves 4, who choose to broadcast crap like Big Brother live all night instead for a third of the year.
I could def. imagine Sky picking it up though.
They showed Cage Rage so they’re presumably not too squeamish about MMA, and their commitments to stuff like NFL, NASCAR, IRL and WWE shows they’re willing to invest in non-traditional sports that air during graveyard slots. There’s plenty of room in the schedules for the TUF/Unleashed/Countdown type shows as well.
My only worry would be that some of the events might disappear off to Box Office!
Setanta might be going under? Shit! Where else will I watch my beloved rugby? That was basically the ONLY channel that consistently plays rugby matches in the US.
RIP Setanta. More than likely Bravo would be the destination. No way could I see a terrestrial channel showing UFC let alone finding a 3 hour timeslot.
Sky Sports? Maybe. I think sky would show some events on PPV. No doubt about it.
The UFC would find a home, of that there is no doubt. If Setanta went under I would not care. I’d save myself £150 a year and I would imagine the UFC would be back on Bravo. Having said that, I REALLY would want Bravo to air it live rather than on tape delay. I hate the tape delay.
Incidentally, if Setanta decides to cut back, I actually see them cutting back on the more mainstream (expensive) stuff and focussing on niche stuff.