Tag Archives: Dana White

UFC Subpoenas Streaming Sites To Track Down Uploader

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Following threats in recent months that it would begin targeting those who obtain or deliver their content without permission, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced they are targeting two popular streaming hangouts. UFC have subpoenaed Justin.tv and Ustream.tv to force them to reveal the identity of a single user who uploaded two UFC events earlier this year.

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Since the start of this year, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) have been warning that they are prepared for a very tough fight indeed – and one in which they hope to knockout Internet piracy of their PPV events.

After shutting down Rage-Streams.net earlier this year, the UFC implied they would start going after those that consume streams too, an unlikely scenario and one that has failed to bear fruit thus far. But there are still plenty of providers – uploaders – and on them, UFC President Dana White made his position clear.

“We are committed to standing toe-to-toe with anyone trying to illegally broadcast or stream UFC events,” said the UFC mouthpiece earlier this month when noting that the company had reached 500 settlements with infringers in 2 years.

Earlier, UFC general legal counsel Lawrence Epstein warned that the mixed-martial arts outfit might even subpoena sites in order to gain the IP-addresses of people who were illegally uploading UFC events. The company has now made good on its threats.

UFC parent company Zuffa, which claims to be the largest provider of Pay-Per-View content in the world, just announced that it has subpoenaed two hugely popular streaming video sites, Justin.tv and Ustream.tv. With this legal action they hope to force the companies to reveal the identity of a user who uploaded two UFC events earlier this year.

The UFC say that on January 2, 2010, more than 36,000 people watched an illegal streaming video feed of UFC 108 which was being uploaded from a single IP address. On February 21, 2010, the very same IP address uploaded UFC 110 which was viewed by a claimed 78,000 individuals.

“I can’t wait to go after the thieves that are stealing our content,” said White. “This is a fight we will not lose.”

Zuffa say that once Justin.tv and Ustream.tv hand over the identity of the uploader, they will take civil copyright action against them.

MMA fans gave the news a mixed reception, with some noting that being a fan isn’t a right and ‘stealing’ events is simply wrong. Others felt that accepting a level of piracy is a good way to get more exposure.

“The UFC has had 15 pay-per-view event in the past year. Zuffa LLC is making a killing on PPVs and frustrating fans who simply cannot afford them. Hence, the piracy problem,” wrote a contributor to MMA blog, MMAJunkie.

“MMA is approaching a saturation point and won’t be able reach the next plateau of popularity until live UFC shows are easily accessible to the average viewer. You can’t fight the Internet – even if you are in the right. The UFC needs to adapt and evolve in the way it delivers content to the consumer and take a short-term loss for a long-term gain.”

In 2009, the UFC banked $350 million in PPV revenue.

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UFC Anti-Piracy Action Leads To 500 Private Settlements

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Following an appearance before the US House Judiciary Committee, earlier this year the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced they would start suing those who provide or access UFC events illegally. In a new announcement the company has just revealed it has reached settlements with 500 businesses and individuals.

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In December 2009, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Lorenzo Fertitta testified at a hearing of the US House Judiciary Committee that his business was losing millions to piracy. His organization later announced that it would start taking legal action against infringers.

Lawrence Epstein, general legal counsel for the UFC, said the mixed-martial arts outfit might even subpoena sites in order to gain the IP-addresses of people who were illegally downloading and sharing UFC events.

“When people start going to jail,” said UFC President Dana White, “people will stop doing it.”

But of course, it wouldn’t be easy, something acknowledged by White.

“It’s going to be a battle, man,” he said. “It’s going to be a battle, but I’m ready to (expletive) fight,” he said. “We’re gonna go after them, we’re gonna go after them hard, and we’re gonna hurt em.”

Aside from illegal streams, plenty of infringers can also be found on BitTorrent. Last Saturday’s big event, UFC 116, where UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar faced off with interim champion Shane Carwin was a huge success, pulling in more than 250,000 views on BitTorrent alone.

Now, in a new announcement from the UFC, the company says that as part of its ongoing effort to combat piracy, it has reached “confidential settlements with over 500 businesses and individuals” in connection with unauthorized “broadcasts and views” of UFC events.

While it seems reasonable to expect that the UFC has managed to shut down some streams of its live events (it hit Rage-Streams.net earlier this year), the suggestion that it would go after end users seems unlikely. Due to their private nature the settlements – which were reached over the last 2 years – are impossible to investigate, but the subtle implication with its chosen wording that somehow the UFC is being successful against those merely viewing illicit streams doesn’t hold much water.

“We are committed to standing toe-to-toe with anyone trying to illegally broadcast or stream UFC events,” announced White yesterday. “Today’s announcement further drives home the fact that we are fully prepared to pursue any business or individual that steals our programming.”

The UFC’s attack on piracy, which thus far hasn’t received the support of commentator Joe Rogan who said that it “kind of stifles innovation”, is costing the UFC more money than the piracy itself.

“(Piracy) hasn’t cost us anything compared to what it’s going to cost us to go after these guys,” said White earlier.

Nevertheless, when the UFC gets tough, it really does ask for big money. Earlier this year a lawsuit filed in the District Court in Boston revealed that the UFC was suing a bar owner for showing one of their events without an appropriate license. A license costs between $500 and $1,500 depending on the size of the location showing it but apparently the bar didn’t have one. The UFC demanded $640,000 plus legal costs.

The UFC has also been spending not insignificant money lobbying the US Government. In 2008, the first year it filed lobbying reports, the UFC spent $280,000 – an amount reportedly more than double the industry average for that year. In 2009 it spent $320,000 and to end April 2010, another $80,000.

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