harlow2 Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 no talk of sky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanz25 Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 ITV aren't in a position to offer BT Sports money for the events, Although I wonder if a lower amount for more coverage would be something they'd be interested in. Depends how much BT are offering doesn't it though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Got my fingers crossed for ITV.  I know a good few on here say that BT's coverage is top-notch, but I'm not in a position to get it at the moment. Plus, ITV would open the UFC up to a wider audience. UFC had a brief period of being pretty big over here from 2007-2009. Perhaps they can get those days back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members lambyUK Posted June 15, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 15, 2016 I have a feeling if for some reason they go to ITV it would be a fucking disaster.  Sean, you moan about adverts on BT, be prepared for the worst if it goes there. On top of that, I think going to a channel that isn't sports specialist is a disaster too.  I hope that BT keep the rights to build on the good work they've done so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 On top of that, I think going to a channel that isn't sports specialist is a disaster too. They've done a really good job with the Darts on ITV 4. Their boxing coverage has always been top-notch as well. Â Not sure about other sports they've covered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members lambyUK Posted June 15, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 15, 2016 The problem is ITV have absolutely no history of mixed martial arts and I'd be fucking terrified how they handle it.  BT took over the rights from ESPN, but they also merged ESPN into their channels. They've gone through that teething stage too of how to present the sport.  BT do a fantastic job of having virtually every card live followed by a full card replay. On top of you can watch them all online on top of a massive back catalogue of shows on their BT on demand channel.  I'm just uncertain ITV will put enough effort into it and provide enough coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanz25 Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 I have a feeling if for some reason they go to ITV it would be a fucking disaster.  Sean, you moan about adverts on BT, be prepared for the worst if it goes there. Just to be clear and I'm not looking to re-spark a debate, I was just pissed BT cut out the 2 most important UFC promo's perhaps ever, otherwise I don't mind the ad-breaks they take.  ITV I think would be a nice fit in a sense, as Jim points out they're doing a good job with other sports and are pretty much turning ITV 4 into a dedicated sports channel. The high epg number, plus the station having plenty of free time to re-air events and the magazine shows could be really beneficial in opening up the product to a new audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanz25 Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 BT took over the rights from ESPN, but they also merged ESPN into their channels. They've gone through that teething stage too of how to present the sport. What do you mean by this out of interest? BT literally 95% of the time just take the US PPV feed and cut to advert breaks after the post fight interview. Technically they don't present/produce anything themselves for the actual cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members lambyUK Posted June 15, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 15, 2016  BT took over the rights from ESPN, but they also merged ESPN into their channels. They've gone through that teething stage too of how to present the sport. What do you mean by this out of interest? BT literally 95% of the time just take the US PPV feed and cut to advert breaks after the post fight interview. Technically they don't present/produce anything themselves for the actual cards.   Presenting the sport isn't simply just running the feed. It's how it's presented to their subscribers. Whether it's adverts, shows like Beyond the octagon, their post and pre fight coverage, and the actual slots, times etc that they allocate to shows like TUF, Ultimate Insider, Countdown etc, is a big part of how it's presented to the audience.  On top of that how they organise the On demand stuff and make it user friendly for the user too. All this is how they present the sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 The problem is ITV have absolutely no history of mixed martial arts and I'd be fucking terrified how they handle it. They have the slightest bit of history. They aired repeats of IFL at one point.  I get your point. It's unlikely that UFC would get the same amount of attention on ITV that it gets on BT. I was round my Brother's place a month ago, and he had BT on. Within 5 minutes of being there, an advert popped up for the UFC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanz25 Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016   BT took over the rights from ESPN, but they also merged ESPN into their channels. They've gone through that teething stage too of how to present the sport. What do you mean by this out of interest? BT literally 95% of the time just take the US PPV feed and cut to advert breaks after the post fight interview. Technically they don't present/produce anything themselves for the actual cards.   Presenting the sport isn't simply just running the feed. It's how it's presented to their subscribers. Whether it's adverts, shows like Beyond the octagon, their post and pre fight coverage, and the actual slots, times etc that they allocate to shows like TUF, Ultimate Insider, Countdown etc, is a big part of how it's presented to the audience.  On top of that how they organise the On demand stuff and make it user friendly for the user too. All this is how they present the sport.  Ah ok, well in ITV's defense pretty much everything goes up on-demand that they have the right's to. I wouldn't be to worried about that and in actual fact it'd be on-demand for more users as Virgin Media/Sky customers don't get BT's on-demand offerings for sport.  I suppose they'd probably only run adverts like you mention for stuff on ITV 4, although I could see a few adverts for big shows on ITV 2/1. No doubt in my mind ITV 4 would use old events, tv shows, replays for filler content on ITV 4. That stuff doesn't get heavily advertised on BT though anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members lambyUK Posted June 15, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 15, 2016 I also don't think it would do the sport any favours going to a non sports orientated channel.Yes we get the occasional footy match and boxing fight on ITV, but aside from that, their core shows are Coronation street, x factor and Britains got talent. Personally I don't want MMA buried or even put along side shit like that.  Being on a channel that has rights to the champions league, premier league, Rugby, etc etc is far better for the sport in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 We seem to have this discussion every few months, and the coverage has never changed from BT, so I'm not going to worry until something concrete is announced to the contrary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted June 15, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 15, 2016 Because I pay for BT Sport and their coverage is usually nothing to complain about, I hope they stick with them. BT Sport treats the company with respect and I fear if they move channels that may not happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Bifkin Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 We seem to have this discussion every few months, and the coverage has never changed from BT, so I'm not going to worry until something concrete is announced to the contrary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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