Counter-Programming and Unintended Consequences
July 21, 2008
As the dust settles from the Affliction vs UFC showdown on Saturday night, it will be interesting to see what kind of numbers the Affliction group were able to get on PPV. If they were able to establish “legs” of any kind, say in the 100,000 buy range, they may find themselves with an unlikely ally against the UFC: the cable companies and satellite providers that serve up the PPV’s.
The main goal for the UFC in putting on the Ultimate Fight Night special was to hurt Affliction PPV sales. Among the collateral damage in such a decision were the PPV providers themselves. With the PPV industry having seen it’s better days, these companies are looking under every nook and cranny for additional buys. If the Affliction group is able to put up a number that indicates they could be a long term player in the industry, the cable/satellite companies could exert pressure on the UFC to cut back their efforts to counter-program against Affliction.
The cable companies faced a similar scenario in the late 80′s and early 90′s with the two companies that provided wrestling PPV’s at the time, WWF and NWA/Crockett. The two wrestling groups would counter-program each others big PPV’s, hurting sales for all involved, including the cable companies that provided them. The cable companies would eventually step in stop these moves, as it was greatly affecting their bottom line.
The PPV companies work as partners with the UFC in promoting PPVs. The cable/satellite companies do a lot to promote the PPVs, through their use of barker channels as well as heavily pushing local commercials hyping the event. To that extent, they have a significant ability to affect the level of promotion the UFC’s PPV’s will get. While the relationship between the UFC and the PPV providers is one of give and take, don’t underestimate the willingness of the PPV companies to use their pull to boost their sales outside the UFC market.
