Fans helped get Versus back on DirecTV
Until Monday, Versus had been kept off DirecTV since September, the result of a reported financial squabble in which the…
Until Monday, Versus had been kept off DirecTV since September, the result of a reported financial squabble in which the Comcast-owned sports network was charging a higher fee. Disagreement ensued, and Versus was blacked out.
“I know the fans were upset about WEC fights not being on the air, and I can only imagine that the volume multiplied by a number I can’t even guess with the fans knowing this UFC fight [UFC® on Versus: VERA vs JONES] wasn’t going to be on, either,” UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta said.
Fertitta admitted that he got into the ear of the DirecTV officials, and his company has given millions of dollars to DirecTV via monthly UFC pay-per-view cards. Fertitta said he told the DirecTV officials “it’d be nice” to have Versus accessible to the 25 million satellite customers in the U.S. and Latin America.
Versus returned to DirecTV under the same agreement that was in place in August 2009, sources who were close to the negotiations but not authorized to speak publicly told The Times this week.
“The MMA fans played a role,” Versus President Jamie Davis said. “I wouldn’t say this was entirely about MMA, but everything is coming to a head this spring for us, with the Indy Racing League’s first race, the [ NHL] playoffs getting ready to start. But I know the MMA fans were very loud. They did not want to miss this fight.”
