Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: Reaction to Dana White's UFC on Fox 3 Ratings Rant, and How to Help TV Ratings
May 16, 2012 - 10:25:55 AM HYDEN BLOG: Reaction to Dana White's UFC on Fox 3 Ratings Rant, and How to Help TV Ratings

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

Dana White released a video rant on his blog about the negative reporting by the MMA media concerning the low ratings for UFC On FOX 3. He brings up some valid points, and it's about what I'd expect from a promoter defending his product. On the surface it sounds great, it's a nice spin job on Dana's part. I'm not a big fan of the cattiness of going after Dave Meltzer, as it detracts from Dana's argument. Anytime you start naming names you run the risk of taking away from the point you're trying to make. The offended party can then smokescreen your argument by playing the victim card and making the issue less about your points and more about your supposed personal attack on them. This is a tactic that Fox News and the Republicans that appear on that network use all the time.

That aside, the video was what any promoter would do. I hope, though, that the UFC and FOX are taking this seriously internally. The low ratings for UFC On FOX 3 is a very real issue, and one that has to be addressed. Dana's video brings up how 10 million fewer viewers were watching television that night. Very true, but that doesn't change the fact that viewership was down, even going by percentages.

The important thing for the UFC and FOX relationship is to meet internal goals. Obviously, we don't know what those goals are, but it's safe to assume that they want to see some traction in the ratings. And they definitely don't want to lose viewers as the show goes on. As long as a UFC event doesn't do that, there's always something positive to look at.

There's a large numbers of articles out there about ways the UFC should handle these FOX events moving forward, especially with regard to trying to draw more viewers. My personal opinion is that they need to leverage the past and present to better the future. The UFC should look at potential match-ups that are big match-ups, but aren't going to sell pay-per-views. The first fight I think of when it comes to that is Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin at UFC 148. That fight's not going to sell many PPV's, but it could provide a big boost to a free card on FOX. They could even market it as Tito's retirement fight, the "final chance" to see Tito fight.

There's another fight on that same UFC 148 card that would fit the bill of "big names, small PPV footprint," Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le. Either of these fights would have provided a much-needed boost to viewership of UFC On FOX 3. They could play with the placement of the fights, but even if you put either of these fights in the main event, hardcore fans would know that these wouldn't be the real main event because there's nothing of consequence at stake. Ortiz vs. Griffin and Franklin vs. Le are like special attraction fights, the guys involved aren't in the title picture, but you use their names to help pull in viewers. Pulling one of these fights away from UFC 148 wouldn't leave a large hole to fill because the UFC isn't relying on them to sell the event.

How many people would pay money to see either of these fights at this point in time? There's probably not many people who would. However, interest would be much higher if the fight were free. People might say they want to see Tito's final fight, or that they know that Forrest brings an entertaining style. If you were to use Franklin vs. Le, you have a long history of highlights and championships to tout. You could also frame it as the UFC giving away a PPV-quality fight for free.

There's another name that comes to mind when discussing a guy with star power who's near the end, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. I'm torn on Rampage because I've always liked him, but lately he's just become more sideshow than real fighter. There's two schools of thought on this, on how to deal with someone leaving acrimoniously. One, you take the old-school wrestling approach where you just bury the guy and don't even put him on television. I prefer the second way, you use whatever star power he has left to bolster a free card. I can't imagine many people, if any, who would be willing to pay to see Rampage fight. Again, though, he is a known fighter and you could use that to your advantage.

There's many other fights and fighters who fit this bill, guys who are known, but aren't close to a title shot. The UFC should use these guys to bring eyeballs to the free events, thus increasing the exposure of the other guys on the card. They don't even have to sacrifice PPV buys to do this. MMA is a star-driven sport. A lot of casual fans don't know a lot of fighters so you have to introduce them. However, you can't expect casual fans to tune in to watch guys they don't know. Give casual fans a point of reference, someone that they might have heard of, and they'll be more likely to watch. Most hardcore fans will tune in regardless of name value, as long as it's a good card.


Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com