Spike TV ran Saturday's UFC 120 event on tape delay, something they've done every time they've aired an event that took place in Europe. As a result, the news of Dan Hardy getting knocked out and Bisping and Akiyama's fight of the night had already traveled across the pond before fans here could see it. It's time for Spike to respect the UFC's American fans and air the shows live.
It's not like Spike didn't air UFC programming anyway. While live fights were happening across the pond, Spike chose to air a marathon of "UFC Unleashed." So, instead of showing live fights mixed in with the taped fights of "Unleashed," they showed taped fights followed by taped fights. How is this a winning programming strategy?
Spike also has plenty of experience working with the UFC to produce live events, considering that Ultimate Fight Nights air live on Spike. If Spike's excuse was that they didn't want to compete with other sporting events, Saturday night was not a good time to air the show. The fights had to compete with the MLB playoffs and college football.
Fans shouldn't have to worry about trying to stay spoiler-free, and media shouldn't have to choose between illegally streaming the fights or waiting until they air to report the results. Spike should use common sense and air the fights when they are happening.
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