Dana White Says Sue Platforms For Piracy; Stream East Reacts – ‘He’s Desperate, Pay The Fans Back’
Streaming platform Stream East, which has been accused of pirating combat sports events, has hit back at Dana White, who claimed such sites should be sued.
The issue of piracy has become a major theme of late. Turki Alalshikh, who is working with the UFC and boxing, has spoken about how to address piracy. He confirmed there are plans to create a minimum PPV price for boxing globally, which would less than $20 globally. Reports stress that illegal streaming cost broadcasters more than $100 million in revenue.
It is claimed that 25 percent of the illegal streaming came from North America, while 18 percent was from the UK. Boxing has received criticism for high PPV prices, with bouts such as Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia priced at $89.99. This would be part of a wider plan to create the Saudi Boxing League, leading to more centralization rather than the current set-up of the sport being looked after by the four governing bodies: WBC, WBO, IBF and WBA.
Turki Alalshikh Reacts
“I dream of a PPV with a good price to make the fans happy and subscribe and get them to watch it legally. Usually when I see a high PPV, a lot of people go and watch the fight illegally and this is not healthy for boxing and the platform. What I will try to push is to have our Riyadh Season shows at less than £20 in England and less than $20 around the world.
“I would prefer to have one million fans subscribe and buy the PPV for £20 than less than 500,000 [for £40]. The people go around it illegally because the price is high. In the future, this will not build boxing. If I give the fans good fights at a good price then I will increase the fanbase,” Turki Alalshikh
Dana White suggested a different approach. He demanded that such sites be prosecuted under the law to prevent revenue loss. The overall impact of piracy will influence how much a show makes through PPV. That will, in turn, damage what a fighter earns on the back end if he is earning from the PPV.
White Vs. Stream East
“Trust me, we know exactly how to combat piracy. I won’t tell you extensively what we do every event, but we go after piracy hard and you saw a few years ago we started prosecuting people. That’s how you combat piracy. Start f*cking prosecuting people for stealing. There ya’ go,” White stated
The UFC has been criticized for not paying its fighters enough. Two lawsuits were issued against the company in 2014 and 2021, citing a breach of antitrust laws. It is claimed that the UFC created a monopoly to control how much fighters could earn. While TKO Group Holdings Inc. settled for $335 million, the courts have not yet approved it, leaving the case with some hurdles. Stream East called out White for not paying fighters more.
“Come and get it then Dana. “He’s desperate. Making up lies praying it scares away a few hundred people from clicking the link. There’s a difference between free and affordable. Make Dana White’s net worth being over a half billion yet his employees have to pay for medical out of their own pockets make sense. It’s time for him to pay the fans back and fighters more,” Stream East replied
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