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By Wade Keller, Torch editor The following is an excerpt of the Torch Newsletter cover-dated May 24, 1997 covering the banning of MMA (then called No Holds Barred as a genre) from PPV, essentially crippling the industry for nearly five years.
No Holds Barred Fighting banned by PPV distributors
By Wade Keller, Torch editor
Time-Warner Cable systems and Request Television will cease carrying all NHB hybrid fighting events on pay-per-view. Extreme Fighting (Battlecade) closed shop as a result of the announcements. Semaphore Entertainment Group, promoters of Ultimate Fighting Championships, said it will continue to run events and battle for distribution. Time-Warner's ban of the events begins with UFC's upcoming May 30 PPV, although some cable systems may override that ban this time because the show already had been advertised. Request will carry the May 30 event, but not the July follow-up show.
Hugh Panero of Request TV (which carried ECW's PPV) said they would not carry future UFCs because with Time-Warner joining TCI and Cablevision in banning the events, there is almost no chance for them to make money with almost 50 percent of their affiliate base banning the carriage. The overall base, as it now stands for UFC's July PPV (headlining with UFC Champ Mark Coleman vs. EFC Champ Maurice Smith) will be carried by less than 50 percent of all cable homes. Viewer's Choice will continued to carry UFC events at least in May and July, but Joseph Boyle of VC told MultiChannel News they will "continue to evaluate the programming."
UFC officials continue to have talks with TCI about reversing their stance, and are now willing to make major compromises in the rules, even if it hurts the perceived integrity of the sport in the martial arts world, in order to at least appear safer to politicians. TCI has not reversed their stance.
The National Cable Television Association recently admonished no holds barred events, not because they believe NHB events are dangerous, but because by carrying them the politicians may see cable as carrying too much violent programming.
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