Bad news for British fans as the UK broadcaster for Strikeforce: Overeem vs Werdum has confirmed to Inside Fights that they shall not be broadcasting the two hours worth of prelims that in the states shall be broadcast on HDNET. This means that UK fans will not get to see what is likely to be a final eliminator for the Strikeforce lightweight title between K.J.Noons and Jorge Masvidal and the return of JZ Cavalcante against rising star Justin Wilcox. In an email Primetime explained that “Strikeforce decide which content to make available to us for broadcast in the UK and unfortunately the HDNet programme has not been made available”.
On so many levels this is a baffling and actually outrageous decision. Firstly in Britain the event is being shown only on pay per view whereas in America the event is free to subscribers of HDNET and Showtime. It therefore seems wrong to ask British to pay to receive less than Americans are getting for free. Secondly by ignoring the prelims, Primetime is delaying the start of their broadcast until 3am in the morning UK time! Surely it would help them attract viewers if they start broadcasting fights two hours earlier? That certainly has been there mentality in the past when it comes to showing boxing prelims on their broadcasts of fights such as Hopkins vs Pascal 1. Thirdly Primetime is saying that its Strikeforce who has taken the decision not to make these fights available and if that’s the case one has to ask why? Surely Strikeforce would want to maximize the exposure for its prelim fighters and ensure that they offer the best possible deal to UK customers.
