So I'm talking with a buddy at work who last year lost his job at the Toronto harborfront movie studios about pirating and the like. He says that 100% of the reason he got laid off is because of illegal (depending on where you do it) downloads and pirated DVDs; they just aren't filming as many movies as they used to cause it isn't as profitable. Inevitably the conversatino drifts to MMA and how the masses consume their monthly UFC fix. Which is where this topic begins.
That said, what is everyone's opinion on third party sites (the rest of which shall remain unnamed) that show live MMA events which are offered on PPV? I feel they are a scourge on society and will lead to nothing but the cancellation of great shows and events people would otherwise pay to see. Yeah, they're not exactly going to put the UFC out of business, but the revenues lost to these sites might actually hurt smaller organizations and lead to less money spent on fighter salaries (which we always complain about).
Some may feel a non-title fight card might not be worth the $50-60, but if that's the case, then just don't watch it. We're all hardcore MMA fans here, so isn't it the least we could do for that which gives us countless hours of enjoyment to pay the piper when he comes a callin'?
Is it really that hard to get 5 dudes together to watch a fight at $10 a pop? Is it really worth it watching a grainy youtube-sized image on your internet browser when you could otherwise go to a bar or watch it in crips high-definition? Personally I enjoy the whole aspect of a UFC night: the friends, the driking, the piture on a big screen with some of your buddies screaming at the fighters and Goldberg's terrible use of irony.
In my opinion, nothing beats paying a bit of cash for a once or twice a month UFC good time. Any thoughts?
