DREAM Moves To PPV In Japan

by Robert Sargent

After its debut event did not live up to ratings expectations in Japan, future DREAM events will no longer be broadcasted on primetime television on the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Instead, unedited events will air on SkyPerfecTV PPV.

This is not all bad news for the fledgling promotion, as time restrctions on TBS resulted in events being heavily edited, with fights often shown only as highlights.

On pay-per-view, events will air in their entirety.

Part of the problem with DREAM's inaugural event was that its main event, between Gesias Calvancante and Shinya Aoki, ended in a No Contest after illegal elbow strikes. As a result, the telecast was edited so that the final fight that aired was the return of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović, who quickly dispatched of Tatsuya Mizuno.

Rumours had circulated last year that Fight Entertainment Group's previous MMA promotion, K-1 HERO's, could be taken off of TBS due to sinking ratings. When HERO's was dissolved and DREAM was created, FEG hoped that the new incarnation would bolster ratings. However, the debut event did not do so.

DREAM's upcoming event on April 29th, the opening round of its Middleweight Grand Prix, will air on TBS but in a series of heavily edited one-hour instalments, with the first part airing one week after the event takes place. After that, future events will air on SkyPerfecTV pay-per-view.

While PPV is nowhere near as lucrative in Japan as it is in North America, fans of DREAM will now be able to watch events in their entirety, rather than being subjected to the strict time constraints on TBS.

It was announced that Daisuke Sato, the video director responsible for the incredible pre-fight promotional packages in PRIDE telecasts, will make his return and work with DREAM. That can only add to the overall product for future DREAM events.


DREAM's Middleweight Grand Prix begins next Tuesday, April 29th.