The return of Conor McGregor brought out a lot of PPV purchases as Dana White stated prior to the event that it was trending toward 1.5M buys. But, there were issues with the transmission of the PPV as many that purchased the PPV saw outages through the main card.
UFC 257 was the first night in which consumers were charge $69.99 for the event, an increase of $5 from the 2020 rate. Many that purchased the PPV, but did not receive the signal, expressed their frustration via social media.
ESPN+ Call center is busy, the help chat function is down on the website, I sent an email and they replied telling me to call or use the web chat (which are busy and don't work) and I have yet to get a response from twitter @ESPNPlusHelp #ufc257 @ufc #iwantmymoneyback
— Eddie Johnson (@eddieajohnson) January 24, 2021
Seeking out ESPN PR did not seem to work either
Regarding the ESPN+ issues tonight for UFC 257. I emailed ESPN PR. Here is what I just got back.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) January 24, 2021
"We are aware of an issue impacting some fans’ ability to access to tonight’s PPV event and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible."
Many UFC fighters expressed the frustration
ESPN+ suddenly telling me my country is not supported. Sweet.
— Lauren Murphy (@LaurenMurphyMMA) January 24, 2021
Does it stop working for everyone else when you try to purchase the PPV?
The last time that a widespread issue with ordering a PPV occurred, it was the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight.
Payout Perspective:
Certainly not the start to the year you wanted especially with such a large audience expected. Also of note was the UFC attempting to crack down on piracy this year. The joke was that a way to get pirates is to make sure that people could not get the PPV legally. Jokes aside, the issues is not a good look for the company when a lot of casual viewers are tuning in. The unpleasant time attempting to order the PPV may dissuade someone to purchase future events.
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