WEC Ratings Dip Could Signal Trouble For First PPV

A night filled with action packed fights on the Versus network this past weekend was highlighted by dominant performances by Joseph Benavidez and newly minted Champion Dominick Cruz as well as the emotional retirement announcement from Jens Pulver. Unfortunately for these warriors the ratings for the show dipped to 42% lower than that of the last WEC show on Versus making it the second smallest viewership in the last two years of programming according to MMAjunkie.com. The card was not short on star power as it showcased the return of Miguel Torres and Jens Pulver as well as a title fight in the bantamweight division. That apparently wasn't enough and that does not bode well for the company looking to air it's first ever pay-per-view card in April at WEC 48. Now a significant number of viewers who subscribe to DirectTV still do not have access to the station thanks to a contractual beef between the network and the satellite carrier. That amounts to around 18 million subscribers that could not tune in if they wanted to.
The company's golden boy Urijah Faber is set to headline the pay-per-view broadcast challenging Jose Aldo for the title, so there may be light at the end of the tunnel. However, with the price tag of $44.95 attached to it, lots of fans are opting out of purchasing the fight. This is unfortunate for the fighters who get a cut of the PPV buys and probably look to make a significant amount more money than the Versus aired telecasts. For a card put on by The WEC to carry that high of a price tag right from the start may be too much to ask of fans for a live event that can regularly be seen on cable television. Not to mention the fact that most MMA fans are trying to keep up with the plethora of UFC events that are broadcast nearly every month with that same price tag. In my opinion what needs to happen now is the WEC PPV price needs to be lowered until they can get people used to the idea of paying for the shows as well as having The UFC put on more free shows rather than PPV to let the little guys in the WEC shine.
The WEC is consistently putting on amazing shows packed full of the best talent south of 155lbs and if anyone deserves the extra cheese its them. As of right now the PPV market seems to saturated with MMA programming to sustain another show regularly, but we wont know for sure until the numbers come back from WEC 48.