The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) are two completely different monsters with huge fan bases’ on both ends. Both companies do great business, and as much as they say they don’t compete with one another, we all know that is untrue. Even Brock Lesnar plays both sides. He made his return to the WWE for another run before WrestleMania 30, while Dana White still claims they are working on a potential UFC deal with ” The Beast Incarnate.”
The WWE has always had competition whether it’s WCW (World Championship Wrestling) and/or ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling). Some feel that now a days their competition is TNA (Total Non-Stop Action) Impact Wrestling, but they would be wrong. TNA has a hand full of talent that the WWE would love to get their hands on. The problem with that is, the TNA talent is so loyal to their product, they wouldn’t stray. If they did, the WWE would more than likely run them into the ground. The only wrestlers that might ever leave are former WWE superstars themselves.
The only true competition the WWE deals with right now is the UFC. Real cage fighting versus so called staged fighting, seems to be the real kicker now a days. True wrestling/fight fans like myself will always love the drama/entertainment level that the WWE brings to the table. At the same time, I love seeing two fighters battle it out without a clear winner in mind. True grappling versus high flying, will always have me coming back to both.
Now, it seems that both have moved on to bigger better things, and are trying to really give back to their fans. The UFC announced their new network before UFC 168 called UFC Fight Pass. Fight Pass will give the fans almost everything they want for $9.99 a month. Fight Pass will broadcast events like last week’s UFC Fight 34, which was the first show to be broadcast on their new network. The new network is on a free trial to really show fans what they will offer before they go live in March 2014. This deal also includes exclusive behind the scenes pre- and post-fight content, and will eventually hold Zuffa’s entire fight library for the fans to watch events again and/or for the first time.
Wednesday night the WWE announced their new digital network. The WWE will offer new flag-ship shows. Spin-offs to Total Divas have been rumored, as well as a legends show. Plus, fans who miss NXT on a weekly basis will no longer have to suffer. This new network seems to have everything a die-hard wrestling fan salivates for.
Many features between the UFC and the WWE’s new network(s) have a similar feel to them. Both will offer a full library of past events and, both will offer exclusive pre- and post fight coverage. The big difference is, unlike the UFC, the WWE will offer every $44.95/$54.95 (HD) PPV for that one low cost of $9.99 a month. That’s right, you will get all 12 PPV’s for only $9.99 a month. That includes this years WrestleMania 30, and big events like Money In the Bank, SummerSlam, and of course the Royal Rumble.
WWE owner Vince McMahon claimed in order to make a profit, the WWE will need one million subscribers, while the UFC will need only one tenth of that audience to be profitable. Including the WWE PPV’s adds huge value to the WWE’s new network, but there are huge differences. The WWE earns a much smaller percentage of their annual revenue through PPV than the UFC. They get most of their money from television and marketing deals.
With shows like RAW and Smackdown earning a small percentage, the UFC doesn’t have weekly programs, so they have to rely more on their PPV percentage. As a result, WWE PPV business hasn’t been seeing the return on their investment as much as the UFC has. Besides big events like WrestleMania, the WWE seems to be struggling on that end. So, giving the fans all the years events should play into their hands.
Both networks will be competing with one another whether they meant to or not. Fight fans all over the world will be tuning into to both, but what’s the better deal? I guess it depends on what you prefer more. I will be subscribing to both, but one is because of my job, and the other is because I’m a huge fan. Would I subscribe to Fight Pass as a fan? That’s a new question in itself.
The WWE digital service will launch on February 24, 2014 at 11:05 p.m. ET just after that Monday night’s edition of WWE RAW. The service will be $9.99 per month and it does require a 6 month commitment upon purchase. Either way, it sounds like a wrestling fans dream.
Ben McPhee (@mmawriter1 twitter)