Dana White Responds to Spike TV's Programming Tactics

by Mike Fagan on Jul 1, 2011 10:30 PM EDT in UFC Quotes

Nate Marquardt might have missed the UFC on Versus show on Sunday, but you could catch him battle Rousimar Palhares on Spike. Photo via UFC.com

Any hope for the marriage between the UFC and Spike TV seemed to dissipate this past week with two moves from the cable channel that more resemble the vengeful gamesmanship of a scorned partner than typical hardball negotiation.

On Saturday, Spike counter-programmed the UFC's show on Versus with a replay of Fight Night 22 (that Nate Marquardt headlined that card is an extra "screw you"), and pulled in better ratings. Then the network aired the Countdown to UFC 132. On Tuesday. At 1:12 in the afternoon.

What did Dana White think of Spike's tactics?

"That's exactly what I would do," White told MMA Fighting. "I would do the same thing. Listen, negotiations aren't fun. You get kicked in the balls sometimes in negotiations, and Spike kicked me in the balls. I owe them one."

Leave it to Dana White to refer to the nature of his business in terms of strikes to the groin. (Perhaps he should employ Cheick Kongo as chief negotiator.)

White insists that the latest round of warfare hasn't affected his opinion of the network that fostered his company's growth, but he just got humbled Iron Sheik style. At this point, the only thing nearly as interesting as the UFC jumping to a new network would be watching the reconciliation process should they stay aboard Spike.

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Speaking of low blows

(Perhaps he should employ Cheick Kongo as chief negotiator.)

I think that one counts as intentional shot below the belt :)

aka BuckeyedBear34

by T.P. Grant on Jul 1, 2011 10:31 PM EDT reply actions

If Dan brought Cheick into negotiations

Spike would be begging Dana to run their network and fuck their sisters.

by d.rok on Jul 1, 2011 10:36 PM EDT reply actions

thank you based god

Legendary lay-up Jordan with the right-left switch.
Hang time, Hand glide, Stir fried, Chinky-eyed, Shanghai

by AndersonSativa on Jul 2, 2011 12:14 AM EDT up reply actions

I feel good about

not understanding this meme

You know what, chris81203? You confuse and infuriate me. - James Brady (Ninjames)

Most of the time I am a rather quiet fellow, who likes to read about Philosophy, Mathematics and History, but like most people I also have a deep appreciation of sex and violence... - John Danaher

by Chris Hall on Jul 2, 2011 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions

I feel great

about understanding it.

by Jim America on Jul 2, 2011 1:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Cooper! Get two coffins. Wait...better make it three.
Chief Editor of Nobody Gives a Fuck About Your Blog

by lowellthehammer on Jul 2, 2011 1:30 AM EDT up reply actions

for anyone that would know is there any shot in hell that they go back to spike?

"I have smoked weed with alot of UFC champions" - Joe Rogan
"Você ta fudido. Se vai levar muita porrada, ta ligado?" - Anderson Silva

by milk72 on Jul 1, 2011 10:37 PM EDT reply actions

dear god

I hope not

You know what, chris81203? You confuse and infuriate me. - James Brady (Ninjames)

Most of the time I am a rather quiet fellow, who likes to read about Philosophy, Mathematics and History, but like most people I also have a deep appreciation of sex and violence... - John Danaher

by Chris Hall on Jul 1, 2011 11:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Ya lets hope they dont.

I would rather them by out G4 then carry on with spike.

Goldmember: A shmoke und a pancake. You know, a flapjack und a shigarette? No? Shigar und a waffle? No? Pipe und a crepe? No? Bong und a blintz? No? Well, then there ish no pleashing you.

by RJshock 305 on Jul 1, 2011 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions

WHY????

I get Spike in HD. I don’t get G4 at all. That would totally and completely suck for DirecTv customers.

"Complacency is your demise." - Kerry King

by duck on Jul 2, 2011 9:11 AM EDT up reply actions

Exactly!

I want to get all the fight action I can without paying more!

by soilworker on Jul 2, 2011 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions

Weren't you the one leading the charge against people who had access in the comments section?

Apologies if I’m mistaken.

"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe

by pdl on Jul 1, 2011 11:39 PM EDT up reply actions

I wouldn't know

But from the sound of that quote, it seems that Spike may have more leverage than I thought. Dana definitely doesn’t sound like he usually does when he’s in control of a situation. Thinking more about it, it does seem as though UFC on “free” TV is deeply intertwined with SpikeTV in the minds of most casuals, as somewhat evidenced by the ratings on Sunday, and previous UFC on VS ratings.

I think FX may be the best bet for Dana & Friends if they can get a better deal than the currently negotiated Spike one.

"The path to enlightenment is through suffering"

by RearNakedChoker on Jul 1, 2011 11:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Advertising rights

That may also be a product of advertising rights. I don’t know for sure, but they may have been limited to the way they promoted a card on a competing network with a contract still in place with Spike. Once a new deal is in place, expect a big increase in advertising their new network. I don’t think the lower numbers are indicative of future performances in this case.

by GoHorns on Jul 1, 2011 11:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Thats a good point,

But on a whole I think Spike has a wider viewer base, and VS has always been a niche channel. A lot of people get Spike in the lower tier cable packages, whereas VS is a level higher, which I think also contributes to their ratings.

I think the next step the UFC has to take is to get on a network, any network that has more base viewers than Spike. I’d love to see a UFC owned G4 but the realistic side of me doesn’t believe it would be a good idea, mainly because I think it would fail.

The only major free TV network I would think would be up for it would be FOX, and even that I think would be a longshot in the near future. I think FX for 2-3 years would work great, and then slowly transition to FOX, while keeping some of the lower rate cards on FX when the switch is complete.

"The path to enlightenment is through suffering"

by RearNakedChoker on Jul 2, 2011 12:33 AM EDT up reply actions

whatever the deal is

they need a major network involved, cable can only grow the sport so much

"I have smoked weed with alot of UFC champions" - Joe Rogan
"Você ta fudido. Se vai levar muita porrada, ta ligado?" - Anderson Silva

by milk72 on Jul 1, 2011 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

"The path to enlightenment is through suffering"

by RearNakedChoker on Jul 2, 2011 12:33 AM EDT up reply actions

......"got humbled Iron Sheikh style"....

…..good one Fagan, Sheikh’s appearance on Howard Stern was a true classic….

formerly NeilLomaxFan

by BrothersGottaAndyHug on Jul 1, 2011 10:39 PM EDT reply actions

Spike owns Dana

or the quote woulda read like this:

“That’s exactly what I would %^$#%@^ do,” White told MMA Fighting. “I would !$^#&$# do the same #%&^#%$ thing. Listen, negotiations $#$# aren’t #%^#$ fun. You get $#$%! in the $#%#! sometimes in negotiations, and Spike #$@$# me in the ^##@#$. I owe them one.”

by In My Opinion on Jul 1, 2011 10:40 PM EDT reply actions

Hey, he still has the lucrative deal with Facebook. What’s his problem?

.....

Cutting down to 145 to avoid the great comments at 155.

by Scabby Knuckle on Jul 1, 2011 10:45 PM EDT reply actions

Well played Spike

Spike has been the home of the UFC for what, 6 years? It’s going to be a while before casual fans realize you can watch UFC on any other channel.

by IWillPartyHard on Jul 1, 2011 10:46 PM EDT reply actions

Do you think Dana will have the word “Spike” scrubbed from UFC history ala Frank Shamrock?

by casey manrique on Jul 2, 2011 6:50 AM EDT up reply actions

So in other words, we should be expecting a blockbuster card on Spike for free, soon?

by Tech Fall 171 on Jul 1, 2011 10:55 PM EDT reply actions

Or, as some have predicted, Bellator moving to Spike after UFC moves on.

.....

Cutting down to 145 to avoid the great comments at 155.

by Scabby Knuckle on Jul 1, 2011 10:57 PM EDT up reply actions

He owes them a kick in the balls

Not a blockbuster card.

by IWillPartyHard on Jul 1, 2011 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Same difference?

by HaterSlayer on Jul 1, 2011 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Kick in the balls

Sounds like putting a fight night on ION or something dumb like that. I’m not sure how giving Spike a card that will make them tons of money could be interpreted as kicking them in the balls, unless their into BDSM over at Spike.

by IWillPartyHard on Jul 1, 2011 11:01 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm guessing I misinterpreted "I owe them one" wrong.

I was assuming he was saying something more along the lines of “I owe them [a blockbuster card]” instead of “I owe them [a kick in the balls]”.

by Tech Fall 171 on Jul 1, 2011 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions

By "blockbuster" it would be

UFC Fight Night Special: Kongo vs. Herman.

So close and yet so far. The story of my sports fandom.

by SSreporters on Jul 1, 2011 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions

As someone who came from being an NFL fan into MMA this is so weird

I’m used to the NFL bullying around networks. I’m still mad at the NFL getting Playmakers cancelled. They simply told ESPN if they didn’t stop the show then they were going to not allow them to show their highlights. The show was then gone. :(

They did something similar to Toyota also. They didn’t like them showing helmet to helmet shots in the ads so they told them if they didn’t cut that part out then they wouldn’t be able to advertise during their broadcasts.

by HaterSlayer on Jul 1, 2011 10:59 PM EDT reply actions

Same here man.

I was a huge NFL Fan. I suddenly became a MMA fan and this is just Weird. Like u said I wish they could just bully them around. I really hope they do by out G4.

Goldmember: A shmoke und a pancake. You know, a flapjack und a shigarette? No? Shigar und a waffle? No? Pipe und a crepe? No? Bong und a blintz? No? Well, then there ish no pleashing you.

by RJshock 305 on Jul 1, 2011 11:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Well, it’s not so much Spike bullying around the UFC. It looks like Spike is prepared to tell them to fuck off, so they aren’t afraid of stirring shit with the UFC. The UFC is very similar to the NFL/ESPN/Playmakers thing with most media outlets.

Twitter: @Mike_Fagan_13

by Mike Fagan on Jul 1, 2011 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions

I think he had a great point though.

ESPN would be fucked without NFL highlights. It would completely change the network. SportsCenter wouldn’t be the go to for all sports news anymore and viewers would leave. They are in the sports business.

Spike won’t even air UFC shows live consistently and can produce more cheap reality shows like a Pawn Stars knockoff or signing Epic Meal Time dudes to something. Spike is in the stupid shit idiots turn on business. And there’s other stupid shit out there. UFC has leverage, but not like NFL. It’s a symptom of being a much smaller and less important organization.

"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe

by pdl on Jul 1, 2011 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions

it takes time dude

mma basically didnt exist in the american public’s mind before 2005 and in 6 years look at the strides they’ve made

its stagnated a bit right now and they simply dont have 40 years of killing it in ratings and massive popularity to bend networks to their will

playmakers was the shit though

"I have smoked weed with alot of UFC champions" - Joe Rogan
"Você ta fudido. Se vai levar muita porrada, ta ligado?" - Anderson Silva

by milk72 on Jul 1, 2011 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't care at all about football...

…but Playmakers was one hell of a show. Thanks Slayer, I’d been trying to remember the name of that show, ’bout to get my Netflix on!

"The path to enlightenment is through suffering"

by RearNakedChoker on Jul 1, 2011 11:39 PM EDT up reply actions

I got a solid feeling

That the UFC is a bit tentative that they won’t get good TV ratings because they’re not on Spike. Hopefully Dana’s confidence (arrogance?) will tell him that moving to another network and promoting themselves properly will draw good ratings and Spike will be an afterthought.

So close and yet so far. The story of my sports fandom.

by SSreporters on Jul 1, 2011 11:28 PM EDT reply actions

But it's a HUGE risk

I think Spike pulling this was an eye opener to Dana that he doesn’t hold all the cards in this like he does with his fighters. He can’t bully networks around. He’s the new kid on the block (in that regard). These networks have been putting it to people for decades upon decades. This is fairly new territory for the UFC. I truly hope this works out in the best interest for the sport (not necessarily the UFC) because I really want to see MMA go big. But with Dana seemingly shouldering all of MMA, well, we’ll see…

by GoHorns on Jul 1, 2011 11:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Haha

“That’s exactly what I would do,” White told MMA Fighting. “I would do the same thing. Listen, negotiations aren’t fun. You get kicked in the balls sometimes in negotiations, and Spike kicked me in the balls. I owe them one.”

I don’t really like Dana White. I don’t hate him – he does too much good shit for the fans and some fighters to completely hate him.

But that quote makes me kinda like him more.

BOOSH

by Farthammer on Jul 2, 2011 12:02 AM EDT reply actions

Yeah

That’s the good side of brash Dana.

Contributor at cagepages.com Come check us out.
Head Kick Legend

by Neil Manich on Jul 2, 2011 12:21 AM EDT up reply actions

aaaahahahahaha

Employ “cup” cheick kongo. ZING!

The poster formerly known as drunkinmidget187, then Chris Toffer, and now finally in it's Pokemon-esque final evolution (thanks to the leaf stoned)- The Midge! Prepare yourself. @GalsGuidesMidge

by The Midge on Jul 2, 2011 12:29 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

When I first heard that interview last night it made me feel like the UFC is going to stay with Spike

I have always thought that right now if it went elsewhere it wouldn’t work. We see the viewing numbers elsewhere and they never match what Spike is able to do. G4 wouldn’t be effective and would take away many users who just have basic cable and don’t have G4. FX is a similar channel to Spike, but I personally feel like the effort and work they would have to put into building it up into what Spike already is for fight fans would take to long and just lead them to now.

Dana knows he needs Spike. If the UFC can’t beat an old show with a new show it is not looking good for it on another channel.

by MPDevils on Jul 2, 2011 12:52 AM EDT reply actions

Yeah. Honestly, I just don’t see the upside in moving to G4. Or even Versus. FX might work better than either of those two, but truth be told, short of getting a major network deal, I think the UFC is best left where it’s at.

by Hardcase on Jul 2, 2011 9:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Can't believe a Marquardt Marathon drew ratings

That alone may be enough to bring Dana running back; that shit is unnatural

by Cunny on Jul 2, 2011 2:33 AM EDT reply actions

I have heard a lot of theories tossed around about which channel UFC will end up on. One option that I have not heard anyone mention is HDNet. DW has said he is talking to “everyone”. HDNet has been doing everything possible to position themselves as the MMA channel. They recently worked things out with UFC so they could air weigh ins and they have started showing the Countdown shows recently. With Mark Cubans money behind them, if HDNet truly wants to be “Home of MMA” adding the ccrown jewel UFC would surely make it true. Plus, they can offer much of the things DW wants. They can promote the athletes on other shows like Inside MMA, The Voice vs, HDNet Fights and a host of other places Cuban owns.

I am not saying HDNet is the best place for UFC to go. I don’t know how many homes they reach. All I am saying is if DW is really talking to everyone, and HDNet really wants to be the “Home for MMA”, then I am sure Mark Cuban has the money to bring UFC on board if he wants them.

Every MMA media outlet should be rooting for this to happen. It would be almost impossible to keep up with all the quotes and stories Mark Cuban and Dana White would create working together.

by TREY JACKSON on Jul 2, 2011 7:59 AM EDT via mobile reply actions