Technical points plagued UFC 313 this previous Saturday night time as fans and fighters voiced their frustrations whereas trying to buy the pay-per-view by way of ESPN+.
Social media exploded after potential viewers realized they had been unable to observe the occasion headlined by Magomed Ankalaev’s unanimous determination win over Alex Pereira.
Whereas UFC declined to touch upon the scenario, sources advised MMA Combating that executives had been “livid” over the scenario, particularly with pay-per-view nonetheless serving as one of many key monetary drivers for the corporate.
UFC CEO Dana White briefly addressed the issues in the course of the UFC 313 post-fight press convention, though on the time he didn’t have any solutions about why the technical points occurred.
“Oh yeah, it made it to me,” White responded. “They had been having issues shopping for it on ESPN+. I don’t know what occurred with their platform tonight. There have been lots of pissed-off individuals.”
ESPN issued a press release to MMA Combating relating to the UFC 313 pay-per-view and the indignant prospects lashing out resulting from points with each buying and watching the occasion by way of the streaming platform.
“Sadly, we skilled a technical challenge that impacted purchases of the UFC PPV on ESPN+ shortly after 10pm ET,” ESPN stated within the assertion. “Our groups recognized and resolved the difficulty, restoring full performance forward of the primary occasion. We apologize for the inconvenience and are taking steps to make sure a greater expertise sooner or later.”
On Sunday, the New York Times reported that ESPN deliberate to make the UFC 313 card accessible to ESPN+ subscribers at no extra cost, though that doesn’t remedy the issue of customers who had been unable to observe the occasion because it occurred dwell.
That is the second week in a row the place streaming points have plagued Disney-owned manufacturers after there have been complaints over viewing the 2025 Academy Awards, which aired on Hulu. Now ESPN+ has been hit with the problems surrounding UFC 313 and the timing couldn’t be worse.
The UFC is at present in an unique negotiating interval with ESPN over the corporate’s broadcast rights deal, which expires on the finish of 2025. The unique negotiating interval runs by way of April 15 after which UFC can begin fielding presents from different potential suitors. In 2018, the promotion signed with ESPN on a seven-year deal that additionally included PPV broadcasts, which can be found to buy solely by way of ESPN+.
Sadly, customers have continuously complained about technical points plaguing the streaming service all through the time UFC has been airing occasions on ESPN. That might spell dangerous information for ESPN because the sports-specific community makes an attempt to carry onto the UFC, which was one of many major points of interest for ESPN+ when the streaming service first launched.
There are not any scarcity of potential broadcast companions vying for the UFC’s rights, particularly at a time when the promotion is hotter than ever in relation to ticket gross sales, sponsorships and merchandising. Previous to signing a cope with ESPN in 2018, the UFC was very near inking a contract with Amazon Prime Video and different gamers like Netflix might doubtlessly get into the bidding to land the dear broadcast rights after the unique negotiating window expires on April 15.
Whereas key executives like TKO Group Holdings president and chief working officer Mark Shapiro have praised the working relationship with ESPN previously, the technical points that successfully doomed UFC 313 might have far reaching penalties.
