Dana White On War With Streamers: ‘We’ll Keep Doing What We’re Doing’
Another UFC pay-per-view event meant another battle between the UFC and illegal streamers, and Dana White plans to keep on fighting.
Ahead of UFC 257 last month, White said that the UFC would be working with authorities to track down and prosecute illegal streamers. The threats worked as intended as the person they were targeting ahead of that event eventually wound up not streaming the card. Apparently, it was more of the same last weekend (H/T MMA Fighting).
“Not a lot of them were streaming tonight,” White reported at the UFC 258 press conference. “We were going to go after one of the big ones tonight, and they did not stream tonight. So we’ll keep doing what we’re doing.”
The choice to more actively deter streamers ahead of UFC 257 wasn’t a coincidence, as it marked not only the return of Conor McGregor but was also the first card featuring the new UFC pay-per-view price tag of $69.99.The $5 increase was the second since the UFC started airing their events on ESPN+.
The streaming service has drawn the ire of fans seemingly since its launch. Not only does it require a monthly service fee just for the opportunity to purchase UFC events, but there have also been many complaints about the quality of the feed. Twitter exploded during UFC 257 with many fans complaining that the stream didn’t work, causing them to miss the first two fights completely. White later claimed that it was mostly fans on the West Coast of the United States that were effected. ESPN has since promised a partial refund for those in that area. However, there were still complaints about delays and pauses in the feed during UFC 258.
White’s plan to go after streamers individually has apparently thus far worked, despite not being able to charge anyone yet. It only makes sense that the UFC will continue to do so to protect their property. How successful it proves to be in the long run is still yet to be seen.
Do you think Dana White will ever be able to completely stop streamers?
