John Morgan of MMAJunkie.com has written an interesting piece regarding the latest trials and tribulations of Scott Coker’s Strikeforce in which the promoter claims he’s in it for the long haul.
One of fans’ biggest gripes as Strikeforce has become a major player on the world stage has been the sometimes painfully slow flow of information from the company. While the UFC often has matchups in place months in advance, Strikeforce’s plans often seem to develop slower.
Coker said that while the information is sometimes slow to reach the public, the fighter who are involved in the potential fights are always kept well-informed so that they can prepare properly.
In other words, Strikeforce’s fighters have not been just kept in the dark.
….
“There are a lot of moving parts in this business, and if you look at our May fight, we’ve already announced a couple of our May fights that are happening,” Coker said. “We’ll probably be announcing that card pretty soon. Tickets are going to go on sale for May card in a couple of weeks. So, I think that every case is a little bit different.
“We had seven weeks to promote [‘Strikeforce: Nashville’], and I think that’s plenty of time to promote a fight of this magnitude.”
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The next few months are unquestionably an intriguing period for Strikeforce, and some would consider it a critical time, as well.
But Coker insists the company’s infrastructure is built for the long haul, and he hopes fans will continue to support the product.
“We’re going to be in this for a long time, and a year from now, it’s probably going to be the same thing,” Coker said. ” The difference between our company and the other companies that went out of business before us is that this is our core business. We’ve been doing this for 25 years, and I think we’re very good at it. My partners that are with me now have made us 10-times more efficient, and they’re very good at what they do, and they bring very smart business prowess to Strikeforce. I feel very lucky.
“To Strikeforce’s fans: Thank you for the support. We’re going to do 20 fights in a 12 month period. Continue supporting us; we truly appreciate it.”
Payout Perspective:
Strikeforce’s biggest problem right now is publicity; there’s no consistent stream of communication between the company and the media or the fans. The organization will run a big event and make some noise, but then there’s an absolute void or dearth of information in the months that follow; that makes it nearly impossible for the organization to sustain any level of interest it’s built from an event.
Never mind that the organization might be experiencing difficulties with M-1, selling very little merchandise at events, or performing poorly at the gate. If Strikeforce can’t fix its communication problem, none of that will matter.
Seriously.
How is an organization supposed to build interest and awareness in a brand when consumers only hear about it once every three months? There isn’t a successful sports property or league in today’s media-driven business environment that can get away with communicating so seldom.
Really, when was the last time you saw something from CBS regarding Strikeforce? Probably November. How many times has Strikeforce openly communicated with the media or the press since its January 30th show? Very few; and, certainly a whole lot less than the competition.
Strikeforce has done well, to this point, to avoid many of the pit falls that other organizations have encountered. However, just paying lip service to a long-term approach and actually employing one are two different things entirely.
Yes, things take time and the MMA community needs to have patience – Rome wasn’t built in a day. But, by the same token, there are pieces we should be able to point to that indicate Strikeforce has a long term agenda; those pieces aren’t particularly evident at this point.
Yeah, Affliction, the WFA, IFL, Elite XC also said they would be in this for a”long time”.
I don’t buy that all the fighters are being kept in the loop at all times. Strikeforce has fighters who have no idea when they are fighting next. Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro was signed by Strikeforce over 5 months ago and stated he still has no idea when he will fight for Strikeforce.
Also I don’t see how Strikeforce gets away with putting tickets on sale for an event that only has a couple fights announced. They won’t get me to buy a ticket with only having a couple fights announced for a card. I mean is it so unreasonable to expect a full main card announced before asking people to buy tickets.
Dojo, the difference is that Strikeforce has a track record, and already HAS been around for a while. Those other organizations were startups who attempted to reach UFC level overnight, and crashed and burned.
Matt C., while you’re right that Strikeforce doesn’t have it all together, and fighters ARE being back-burnered, the point was that they don’t float rumors to stand in for actual announcements. Neither do they use Scott Coker or Mike Aframowitz to generate buzz by making wild proclamations that undermine their credibility…despite being good for headlines on websites. And as for fight announcements, there’s a big “Card Subject to change” disclaimer whenever you buy a ticket. The live cards feature a LOT of local fighters, who have their own followings, and who aid in ticket sales. The main televised card is usually announced just under two months before the event, which is more than enough time for fans to make a purchasing decision, and adjust their calendars. And if you won’t buy a ticket until the card is finalized, you may find it difficult to score them when it finally is. Or you might not. Either way, I think we’re forgetting that while the Zuffa way is working for the UFC (and to a lesser extent, WEC), Strikeforce’s way has been working for them. We’d all like them to improve, but the notion that they are somehow imperiled is laughable.
“The organization will run a big event and make some noise, but then there’s an absolute void or dearth of information in the months that follow; that makes it nearly impossible for the organization to sustain any level of interest it’s built from an event.”
Sort of like the UFC before their marriage to SpikeTV?
The only questions I have concerning Strikeforce is life after CBS. The odds are likely that CBS won’t be around a year from now, so can Strikeforce build its brand over that period and begin to showcase their big matches on PPV? I believe it’s possible, but that will be the big question over the next few years. Of course they will be around or bought out – they are not new at the sport and are still making money. Even on the last card where the attendance was dismal, they easily covered their salary and costs considering money that was not accounted for from the Showtime deal.
I think one other problem you can file under miscommunication
Strikeforce has difficulty telling stories and giving reasons for their fans to care about their match-ups. Some of their cards to the non hardcore MMA fan appear to five fights with no end game.
The build up for Nick Diaz’s and Sarah Kaufman’s recent title fights come to mind. Who are there opponents? Why are they getting a title shot? Why should the causal fan care about these fights? No build up and no end game from the outside looking in
To Strikeforce’s credit they have been only been working with this current incarnation (partnership with Showtime and CBS) for less than 12 monthes.
Scott is a good guy, but he has been doing more and more spin of late, much of which is playing fast and loose with the truth. Werdum was going to fight in April, then May, now June or July. Odds are that he will find out maybe eight weeks in advance. Meanwhile he, like Shaolin, is sitting around without making money.
The April 17th card became official last Monday, March 1st. How does 38 days equal seven weeks?
They were supposedly meeting on Monday (three days after tickets went on sale) to decide if they were keeping the card on the 17th. Anyone hear any statement?
Petter griffen, but would the UFC pre spike be trying to compete with the UFC of today? I dont think so. The UFC then with no outlet to the public would not be trying to strike a blow to somone in the UFCs position without any way to win. THe UFC got on spike and has a deal where they can get almost unlimited air time. Strikeforce has a tv deal for an event now and then that is barely staying alive. But they have ZERO chance of being given a weekly show on CBS to keep fans in the loop. So SF is being to big of a promotion with to big of a network way to fast.
Strikefirces answers may lie in a partnership with a cable network the size of spike to be this source of information and to drive the hype of their Showtime and CBS fights and later PPV. This is probabely something they cant do because of a limited contract with CBS/Showtime. If this is the case it was a very poor decision to make moves that would make you seen as competition to the UFC. They should not have signed Fedor if they couldnt win the war.
Mike from brooklyn,
25 years of being a regional promoter is meaningless. the guy down the street who runs the bar has the same credentials. We’re talking about a guy who a year ago was promoting bob sapp vs some nobody and now we’re surprised that he’s promoting Hershal Walker vs Greg Nagy. being a small local promoter trying to sell tickets is very different to trying to play on a national stage. Combine this with the fact that showtime and CBS runs the show (what, they have like 2 years experience and this isnt their core business) and you have the mess that strikeforce is today.