UFC Boss Open to Subscription Model, Stands Firm in Choice to Prosecute Individuals

[Swinny]

UFC boss open to subscription model, stands firm in choice to prosecute individuals

LAS VEGAS – Steal from the UFC, and you will be punished.

That's the message from UFC president Dana White, who is not backing down in the face of some criticism for his company's decision to prosecute individual Internet users found watching illegal streams of UFC pay-per-views.

White said his promotion refuses to go the way of the music industry, a segment that once printed money and now is struggling to stay afloat.

"The bottom line is the same [expletive] guys that are saying, 'Why would you sue the fans?' are the same guys that are going, 'You should pay the fighters more,'" White told a small group of reporters following Tuesday's UFC 146 promotional press conference in Las Vegas. "How the [expletive] do you think this thing works? You think the Fertittas just pull all of the money out of their [expletive] bank and pay everybody? No, this is a real business.

"There's this whole generation out there that grew up getting free [expletive] on the Internet, so they thing everything on the Internet should be free. That ain't how it [expletive] works. The music industry was single-handedly destroyed by the Internet. They'll tell you that. It's a fact."

While targeting online piracy has long been a priority for the UFC, the company recently instituted a new policy, which includes targeting not just businesses and websites that host illegal streams but also online users who watch said fights.

The UFC legal team recently revealed they've already obtained "voluminous" user records from the recently shuttered website Greenfeedz.com and that the information is currently being sifted to "extract certain data and make determinations internally."

Some have argued that the strategy is counter-productive since the UFC would be legally prosecuting fans of the sport. White disagrees and sees the issue as a clear matter of right vs. wrong.

"I respond to people every day on Twitter, like, '[Expletive] you, you criminal. Yeah, we're coming after you,'" White said. "Oh, boo hoo. 'You're coming after the fans.' Yeah, you're [expletive] stealing."

It may be somewhat ironic that the UFC is following the very same path as the music industry in attempting to prosecute individual users. The move – necessitated by the launch of Napster and other file-sharing services that were used to illegally distribute music – was largely panned by the public when first introduced by the music industry years ago, and many fight fans are now protesting the UFC's choice to follow suit.

However, White said the reality of what happened to the music industry, which has seen revenue consistently decline in recent times, is proof positive of why he has no option.

"You go from having all these music outlets – and it's not too long ago – what was it, five years ago? If you wanted to listen to it, you'd have to go buy the CD," White said. "The iPad and all these 'i' things have only been out for a little while. So when you think about it, all these stores existed throughout the country where you would go and you would buy their CD and all this other [expletive]. Now you're buying songs for $0.99. Woo hoo! That's not good. That's not good for the music industry.

"It's better now that you can go on iTunes and buy some [expletive], but they were stealing things for years. Single-handedly, all these business went out of business, which the artists lose money. People lost their jobs. People lost their businesses. The list goes on an on."

White said he's listened to fans complain about their massive cable bills after plopping down $50 for each pay-per-view event (which can sometime be held twice monthly). Many have suggested some type of subscription model, not unlike the NFL's "Sunday Ticket" as a potential solution.

The UFC boss said he's actually open to that concept and points to a recent pricing special that allowed DISH Network subscribers to purchase six UFC events for the price of five with a UFC T-shirt thrown in as an added bonus.

However, he also think fans may not be entirely realistic when it comes to how negotiations work in the pay-per-view and television industry.

"We just did a deal where you could buy a package of fights," White said. "We've been working on that for a long time. What's funny, fans go, 'You should do this. You should do that.'

"I'd love to do a deal where we set it up, and people can buy the package like the NFL. We've got to get this deal done. It's not like we just go, 'Hey, guess what DirecTV? We have a great idea.' You've got to get these things done."

So for now, the pay-per-view model remains in place, and White promises his company will be vigilant as it tries to protect its product. The UFC boss said he truly values each and every UFC fan, but theft will not be tolerated.

"There isn't a sports organization that's more fan-friendly than we are," White said. "We try to do as much as we can for the fans. Then you've got these guys out there saying that they think it's OK to steal our [expletive] on the Internet. [Expletive] you. It's not OK. Yes, I'm coming after you. Yes, we will [expletive] sue you.

"If you steal our [expletive], we're going to get you. We might not get you now or next month, but eventually we will, and we're spending a lot of money toward busting people who steal."

MMAJunkie

 

[Smart Marx]

Re: UFC Boss Open to Subscription Model, Stands Firm in Choice to Prosecute Individual

Dana White can go fuck himself. I'm so thankfully I don't watch his shitty product.

 

[Swinny]

Re: UFC Boss Open to Subscription Model, Stands Firm in Choice to Prosecute Individual

Dana White can go fuck himself. I'm so thankfully I don't watch his shitty product.

There's nothing shitty about the UFC. Yeah, Dana's got issues, but he, and everyone else involved, still consistently puts on awesome shows.

 

[Smart Marx]

Re: UFC Boss Open to Subscription Model, Stands Firm in Choice to Prosecute Individual

There's nothing shitty about the UFC. Yeah, Dana's got issues, but he, and everyone else involved, still consistently puts on awesome shows.

I've never been entertained by UFC. But I'm glad for that because I wouldn't support a product run by such a dick weasel.

 

[Swinny]

Re: UFC Boss Open to Subscription Model, Stands Firm in Choice to Prosecute Individual

I've never been entertained by UFC. But I'm glad for that because I wouldn't support a product run by such a dick weasel.

Because Vince McMahon ISN'T a "dick weasel"? :tongue1:

 

[Smart Marx]

Re: UFC Boss Open to Subscription Model, Stands Firm in Choice to Prosecute Individual

Because Vince McMahon ISN'T a "dick weasel"? :tongue1:

Are you going to make me defend Vince McMahon? For the record I mainly support TNA Wrestling, WWE I watch mostly because I like wrestling.

To answer your question though, he is but he isn't that bad. He's not going to sue me for watching a PPV online.

 

[Swinny]

Re: UFC Boss Open to Subscription Model, Stands Firm in Choice to Prosecute Individual

Are you going to make me defend Vince McMahon? For the record I mainly support TNA Wrestling, WWE I watch mostly because I like wrestling.

To answer your question though, he is but he isn't that bad. He's not going to sue me for watching a PPV online.

Well, let's look at TNA then. Dixie Carter isn't a "dick weasel" (I really like that term, by the way. :tongue1 but she lets people walk over her and basically do whatever the hell they want and that's why TNA isn't, and will never be, nearly as successful as the WWE or TNA. Basically, ya gotta be a dick weasel, at least a little bit, to be successful. :tongue1:

 

[Smart Marx]

Re: UFC Boss Open to Subscription Model, Stands Firm in Choice to Prosecute Individual

Well, let's look at TNA then. Dixie Carter isn't a "dick weasel" (I really like that term, by the way. :tongue1 but she lets people walk over her and basically do whatever the hell they want and that's why TNA isn't, and will never be, nearly as successful as the WWE or TNA. Basically, ya gotta be a dick weasel, at least a little bit, to be successful. :tongue1:

TNA's in pretty good shape considering no one gave it a year and we're celebrating the tenth anniversary very soon.

Plus if Dixie became said "dick weasel", she'd alienate a large portion of the reasonable but smaller audience they currently have.