Dana White: Pirates are going to jail
MMA has long been known as a sport that survived on the Internet, as hardcore fans clamored for news about…
MMA has long been known as a sport that survived on the Internet, as hardcore fans clamored for news about the sport even during the “dark days” of MMA when major events were held despite being banned from pay-per-view. At special UFC 129 press conference and fan event at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, Dana White detailed the future of Pay Per View on the Net, and what he is doing to protect that future.
“I’ve been saying it for 10 years. Everything is going Internet. I believe that everybody is going to be watching TV and be on the Internet.”
While the UFC has long offered its pay-per-view broadcasts via online streams, a new enhanced pay-per-view broadcast online at UFC.tv includes options for fans to choose multiple camera angles from which to view the fight, as well as the option to listen to a variety of audio feeds, including direct feeds from each fighter’s corners.
A free demo of the product, featuring the first round of January’s UFC 125 lightweight title fight between current champion Frankie Edgar and top contender Gray Maynard (featuring dramatic audio of Edgar’s corner debating whether or not to throw in the towel), is currently available at UFC.tv.
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“The future is the Internet. That’s why we’re fighting. That’s why we’re taking such a strong stance.
“You’ve got to understand, all this stuff is brand new. Even when the music thing happened with Napster and all that stuff, if I take your song and let people download the song, the song isn’t ruined. People still want to hear that song or the album or whatever it is. When our event gets stolen, it’s dead. It’s over. You know the results. A live event is different than anything else.”
“We’re fighting it hard. “Listen, I said it when we made this announcement, and I’ll say it again, people are going to jail.”