Dana White has high hopes for the number of people who will watch the UFC Freedom 250 event at The White House.
Those hopes, like many of the things White has said over the years, appear detached from reality.
While it might sound like a scene right out of the Mike Judge film Idiocracy, the controversial seven-fight MMA event will indeed take place on the South Lawn of the White House, and President Donald Trump will be in attendance on his 80th birthday.
White, a close friend of Trump’s who has spoken on his behalf on many occasions (but please don’t say he’s political), has high hopes for the event’s viewership, despite the card disappointing some fight fans.
“For UFC fans all over the world, this is a very unique experience for everybody,” White told TNT Sports UK. “We’re expecting Super Bowl-type numbers for this fight.”
One tiny issue that might prevent the event from reaching those viewership numbers is that it will only be shown in the United States on the Paramount+ streaming service.
While it had initially been discussed that the event would also be broadcast on CBS, that does not appear to be the case. While there was a presumption that perhaps some pre-fight or whiparound coverage might show up on CBS, that also doesn’t sound like it’s in the cards.
There is a lot of conflicting information out there claiming that certain aspects of the event will air on CBS. However, a check of local listings shows CBS plans to air its regular programming on Sunday evening, including CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes, Marshals, and Tracker.
Perhaps White is expecting to pool audience figures from international PPV audiences and social media audiences as well. If so, bragging about social media impressions and views is foolhardy, as those numbers often oversell how long someone was actually watching. It stands to reason the event will garner a solid viewership on Paramount+, but the idea that it will even come close to sniffing something like the Super Bowl is absurd, if not downright stupid.
If anything, CBS and UFC might have a problem on their hands when a sizable number of people tune in to CBS on Sunday expecting to see some kind of coverage of the event and can’t find it.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.