UFC President Dana White “reacted angrily Monday to comments" Top Rank Chair Bob Arum made "about the head-to-head competition" on Nov. 12 between a UFC show and a Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez boxing match, according to Kevin Iole of YAHOO SPORTS. UFC will make its network debut on Fox that night. UFC on Fox shows are "supposed to be two-hour broadcasts, but because the Pacquiao fight was already scheduled for that night, the UFC opted to go for just one hour on Fox so that its card would end about a half-hour before Pacquiao walks to the ring." That "would give fans an opportunity to see both shows live." However, Arum said that he “thought the decision to go on the same night was intentional.” He "took a dig at the UFC by saying that he’d have more competition if Fox opted to air a movie." After learning of Arum's comments, White “took full aim at Arum and his stepson,” Top Rank President Todd duBoef. White "disparagingly referred to duBoef as ‘Todd Arum’ and assailed Arum and duBoef for being greedy and not investing in their product." White: “Let me tell you what: Todd Arum went crazy when he found out that we were going the same night as them. He went crazy and called everyone in the industry flipping out. And Bob Arum is a jealous moron. Bob Arum had the ability to do great things for the sport of boxing.” White continued, “You had the ability, Bob Arum, to make boxing great. But the problem was, you were greedy. You’re a greedy pig, just like all the other guys who were involved in boxing. All you ever did was try to rip money out of it. You never invested a dime into the sport of boxing to make it great, to make it last, to create a future for boxing.” Arum responded by saying that “he had nothing bad to say about White or the UFC.” Arum said that he is “considering buying an ad for the Pacquiao fight that would air on Fox during the UFC show.” Arum did, however, reiterate his position that he believed "a high-quality, first-run movie would be more competition for us. That’s true" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/23).
JUST A COINCIDENCE? When asked if he thinks UFC hosting its first match on Fox on Nov. 12 was by design, Arum responded, “Of course. It’s not an accident. Let the games begin.” Arum added that he "wasn’t concerned and didn’t view a free UFC event airing opposite a boxing pay-per-view as serious competition." Arum: “As far as we’re concerned, it is irrelevant. There is no competition. If Fox was to put on a top movie that night, it might be more competition. If Fox put on Manchester United that night, it would be more competition.” Arum said that he thinks UFC appearing on Fox "will actually benefit the boxing pay-per-view event." Arum: “I think it helps it because there will be a lot of talk about it, and people who follow boxing and love boxing are gonna vote with their dollars. We’re going to rally the base. We’ve got all the Democrats and Independents. They’ll all be watching boxing” (ESPN.com, 8/19).
BATTLE FOR ATTENTION: White said that the “necessity of crowd-pleasing fights Nov. 12 is as important now ... as it was in 2005 when Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar fought in the epic finale of 'The Ultimate Fighter,' and allowed White and UFC Chairmen Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta to strike a television deal" with Spike TV the same night. White said that he has plans “to educate the first-time viewer who’ll tune in to the Fox card about the essentials and basics of MMA.” White: “We’re going to educate the masses, treat it like nobody knows who we are. I think our [hardcore] audience understands that’s necessary” (L.A. TIMES, 8/22).
BOOSTING FX: BROADCASTING & CABLE's Jon Lafayette wrote News Corp. is "betting the UFC rights package will help with a major corporate initiative: FX punching and kicking its way to the top of the cable rankings in terms of both ratings and, especially, revenue." FX will carry six live UFC events under the new TV rights agreement. News Corp. COO Chase Carey “believes the division has much untapped potential, particularly at FX, whose license fees are scrawny compared to its older rivals.” SNL Kagan estimates that “cable, satellite and telco distributors pay 44 cents per sub per month for FX.” SNL Kagan Analyst Derek Baine said, “I think adding sports will capture the attention of cable operators” (BROADCASTING & CABLE, 8/22 issue).
MAKING STRIDES: DAILY VARIETY’s Tatiana Siegel profiled Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban's HDNet, which is in 25 million HHs and "derives most of its revenue from carriages fees, not advertising.” As the network prepares to celebrate its 10th anniversary next month, Cuban notes HDNet "takes on topics Spike and others won't.” Cuban said, "There's no corporate-owned network that's going to take chances (like HDNet does, knowing) it's going to upset some people. After midnight, we don't care if a girl is topless. We don't care if someone curses." While HDNet does not disclose ratings, company officials said that MMA “provides a huge lure for men 18-49 who tune in for the network's 35 live events a year as well as its ‘Sports Center’-esque show ‘Inside MMA,’ now in its fifth year.” HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon said, "We want destination viewing, and every Friday night, people know they're getting MMA. There's no other network who's branded it that way." Cuban insisted that “nobody offers more for the bloodthirsty demo than HDNet.” He said, "If you like MMA, you've got three events a year on Spike, maybe one on Showtime, and then you've got pay-per-view (at about $50 a pop). We said, 'That's crazy. That's like only having pay-per-view football'" (VARIETY.com, 8/20).
