WEC's Reed Harris Offers Details on WEC's First Pay-Per-View Event

"This is part of trying to grow and pay fighters more. To be able to put on bigger events, sign new fighters." - Reed Haris

I spoke yesterday with WEC General Manager Reed Harris about his organization's first scheduled PPV event. I wanted to know why the timing was made for April, how the decision to move forward was calculated, what the WEC feels are compelling reasons to make WEC 48 a PPV card, why the price point was made at $44.95 and more.

Here are the early details:

1. The date was selected in part to nail down the Sacramento venue. With their most financially lucrative star in Urijah Faber headlining for a title in the main event, it only makes sense to ensure the crowd will be as loud, thick and MMA-savvy as possible. Sacramento has historically shown to be hugely favorable territory for the WEC.

2. According to Harris, their planning of an April 24th show did not take into account any potential Strikeforce plans to also host a Fedor Emelianenko-headlined fight in April.

3.The decision to move forward with a PPV was done by WEC brass in conjunction with UFC President Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta. The logic, as it was explained to me, was that with two title fights and a card filled with highly-ranked, pound-for-pound greats, the card merited moving in that direction. "With five fights and two titles on the line, they feel upstairs that we are the same caliber and quality as UFC events," said Harris.

4. As for the price point, the decision to place the cost at $44.95 "was made corporately". Harris insists extensive research was done into PPV watching and purchasing habits. He argues the internal data they received gives them the confidence to move forward with the PPV effort, but did not elaborate beyond that. He also insisted given what the event offered, it was worth the cost of a UFC PPV.

5. Here's a clever twist: the event will be known as "UFC Presents...WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber". When asked about the extent to which the UFC would use their marketing and PR muscle to assist the WEC, assurances were made that both organizations would work together to properly promote and cross promote the effort. No specific details were offered as to promotional events, branding, event signage or other items at the time of the call.

6. As for initial goals about what kind of buyrate they're expecting, Harris acknowledged the WEC internally has benchmarks in mind, but would not disclose those figures.

7. Harris reminded me that the free shows on Versus would not be going away, but that "We've [the WEC] been providing free shows for ten years now".

8. Just like normal UFC PPVs, provided there is time permitting, under card fights will be shown on the main broadcast.

Again, the key takeaway for me from my conversation with Harris was less about whether the MMA or PPV market was cluttered (although I'm sure it was factored in) and more about an internal look at what the WEC needed to do to make the next step in its evolution. The first foray into PPV is never going to be without issues or challenges, but the WEC believes there is enough going in its favor with the availability of talent, the sellability of the card given the talent, the location of a suitable venue and the meaningfulness of two title fights to warrant the leap.

Harris also made a point to put the ball in the court of MMA fans. "We hear a lot of people talk about how they want the sport to grow," said Harris. "If the fans support this, there could be a second company producing events as we are. It could really allow the sport to grow."

While the MMA community has often wandered into discussions about Zuffa or UFC revenue sharing percentages relative to other sports leagues, the WEC's clear contention is that for purses and WEC visibility to increase - remember: "This is part of trying to grow and pay fighters more, to be able to put on bigger events, sign new fighters" - the fans have something of a responsibility to support this effort. The WEC clearly believes it's offering a valuable product and isn't drawing a line in the sand inasmuch as they are issuing a call to action.