Strikeforce/Showtime have no clue how to hype an event

[Warner2BruceTD]

I posted this in another thread, but I think it deserves it's own discussion. I just finished watching the Challengers show, and i'm baffled/pissed/confused at the total lack of promotion of the GP tournament, and the missed golden opportunity.

I'll tell you what's inexcusable. No mention of the Heavyweight GP until ONE HOUR AND ONE MINUTE into the show. That's ridiculous and stupid. Free preview weekend, more eyeballs, and you wait over ONE HOUR to promote this thing? And it was on one of those Showtime "waht's coming up" bumpers, when a lot of people channel flip. They didn't show a video package until the 72 MINUTE mark of the show. Then, no mention again until AFTER THE MAIN EVENT, when the announcers FINALLY talked about it.

WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY THINKING????

This show should have been a 2-3 hour commmercial for the GP, with the fights as a backdrop. BIG PICTURE.

What a lost opportunity, I was very disappointed, I expected the GP shoved down our throats, and all we got was casual mentions in passing. Awful, awful, job.

By the time the announcers talked about it, most casual viewers probably changed the channel, because the main event was over. Plus, the main event sucked, and I gauruntee it lost viewers anyway.

Coker needs to hire someone who has a clue, it's frustrating watching this company operate like amatuers. It's entirely possible new or casual viewers watched that show, and still have no clue that the biggest heavyweight tournament in MMA history is happening, BECAUSE THEY DIDNT BOTHER TELLING ANYONE.

[SHOGUN]

Promotion and hype has never been Strikeforce's strong suit. It's like expecting TNA to produce consistent and logical storylines.

[Warner2BruceTD]

C'mon rob, use those connections, call up Frank, get me an interview with Coker. I come cheap, just double my modest middle management salary, it's a lock I can do a better job than the goofs they have running the promotional end.

The tournament should have been talked about at length by the announcers directly following the show open after they ran down the Challengers card. A giant fucking bracket should have been plastered on the screen, with Pat & Qaudros making picks and Mauro going apeshit about how HUGE this was for MMA. Video packages for all 8 fighters should have been put together during the week and shown in between the fights..."Now let's take a look at Brett Rogers, who takes on Josh Barnett!"...That bracket should have been shown so much, that anyone watching would be able to recite the matchups without thinking hard the next day. Ticket information for the NJ show with Fedor/Bigfoot should have been provided multiple times. Did they even tell us the date more than once?? With the extra time at the end of the show, they should have ran old fights of the participants knocking fools out.

This ball wasnt dropped, it was never handed off to begin with. Embarrassing.

[EmpireWF]

They can't advertise Barnett, so I'm not sure if they're allowed to promote him other then saying he's in the GP.

Obviously they let the ball drop on that one. Even the UFC's crappy way of during the show, giving Rogan the pre-taped interview to promote a fight was better.

In SF's defense, by the time the fights started it was about 10 after the hour. IIRC, they had a 2-hour window to get each of the 5 fights in. Having to assume each fight goes the distance, that's 75-minutes plus entrances, video packages, commercials.

After a show is over, Showtime never gives them time to do anything more. So they have to get everything in before the final fight.

IMO, after doing intros and running down the Challengers card, they should have had Mauro say, "But before the action begins tonight, Strikeforce & Showtime announced earlier this week the biggest heavyweight MMA tournament in the history of the sport. Beginning next month, February whateverthefuck, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Fedor Emelianenko will fight Antonio Silva and Andrei Arlovski will fight Sergei Kharitonov. Other first round fights including champion Alistair Overeem and the man who beat Fedor, Fabricio Werdum will take place at a later date. Go to Strikeforce.com for more information including tickets and schedules......Now let's go to tonights action."

They had a brief exchange where Pat talked up Kharitonov but it was quick. In between fights, they definitely should have talked to whomever to promote the next month's fights.

[Warner2BruceTD]

The show had a THREE hour window, and they left time on the table.

The Kharitonov discussion was at the very end, when nobody was watching anymore, and ironically they talked about the LEAST marketable guy in the entire field.

There is no "In Strikeforce's defense..." on this one. They dun goofed. The entire thing was a clusterfuck, and the fact you, as a hardcore fan, cant even remember the date of the Fedor fight says it all.

[EmpireWF]

I guess the only defense is they've never done it well.

Like I've said in the past, get Showtime to spend some money on advertising across television to hype the hell out of the February card and the tournament as a whole.

Are they waiting for PPV? They want to do one but how in the hell do they expect people to know about it if they fail to promote well?

[Liquidrob]

missed opportunity, but they have the 29th show 2 weeks before than with walker on the card, it will be fine

[EmpireWF]

They have to get settled whether it'll be 3 rounds or 5 rounds by the February show. Meltzer was talking about how they may have to create new belts if they want every fight to be 5 rounds.

If not, they may have every fight be 3 rounds and REEMs belt may be on the line.