Dana White expressed concern over the UFC’s decision to move up the PPV time for the biggest event in the company’s history. The move, announced in March, was done to accommodate the East Coast markets so that audiences would not have to stay up until 1am.
Although a calculated risk White believes it was the right move. Yet, he is not sure that everyone knows that the PPV has moved up one hour.
Via MMA Junkie:
…White is concerned word hasn’t made it throughout the MMA community, which could have a major impact on PPV sales for this weekend’s event. “It’s the most dangerous thing we’ve ever done,” White said. “It’s scary as hell for me.”
Payout Perspective:
While the UFC has blanketed cable television with commercials and its UFC Countdown and UFC Primetime episodes leading up to today’s event, there still may be those accustomed to the 7pm start time. It may have been nice to have started the new time one or two PPVs earlier so fans would get used to the change. Still, the new time will probably garner more East Coast audiences. As I’ve argued for the west coast, it will be hard to tune into the earlier fights on Facebook and Spike since they are mid-afternoon. But, most people should be able to tune in (or at least DVR) for the PPV tonight. One thing to look at tonight is the ratings for Spike TV’s prelim fights to see if the move up an hour hurts its viewership.
Enjoy the fights!
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