Dana White: B&C's 2011 Sports TV Executive of the Year

Broadcasting & Cable magazine recently named UFC President Dana White it's 2011 Sports TV Executive of the Year. The magazine, which arrived to subscribers this week, features the UFC President on it's cover and a seven page article, along with an interview with the man himself:

Why did you leave Spike?
We couldn't come to a deal. They let the biggest sports franchise in the last 50 years go. We negotiated with Spike. We're loyal guys. We were loyal to Spike. The Spike thing worked for us. That really worked, to build the way we did there. Could it have worked if we went back to Viacom, who knows? I wouldn't change a thing.
It came down to money?
Yeah, pretty much. And we needed more content. All these platforms...
What will happen with Fuel? Do you think it will be rebranded?
I think it will become a real network. I think it's going to stay Fuel. [Fox execs] are talking about it staying Fuel.

Does your candid persona ever hurt you?
No, I think the only time it ever has it when I used [the word faggot] that one time, and now I'm labeled a homophobe, which is the furthest thing from the truth. I think it's the only time in 10 years anything like that has happened?
I read PPV numbers are down like 50% this year, is that right?
We are down, but not quite that much. We're in this funk right now. We are in this wierd transition from Spike to Fox. If we were still deep in our Spike deal, I would be programming alot of things on that network right now that I am not. So we are in this wierd position, between injuries and transition period from Spike to Fox. We're not concerned. We had a lot of great main events lined up, and the list of injuries is crazy. We lost 10 main events [in 2011] to injury.

source: broadcastingcable.com