Should UFC be lowering PPV price, not raising?

[DRMZ]

It’s the classic “volume is falling so we must subsidise the shortfall by raising prices”.

It doesn’t work, look at the pub/bar industry, less punters, drinks prices go up, less punters.

You don’t increase sales volume by increasing price if supply outstrips demand.

Basic economics.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

The UFC recently bumped its PPV price $5 to $54.99 SD and $64.99 HD. With the current trend of low PPV buys, do you think the UFC should actually be lowering its PPV price instead of raising it?

There are multiple upcoming cards that are expected to have low PPV buys, especially with the main event change of UFC 222. There are too many mediocre cards every month that is causing a lack of interest in fans to fork out $55 to watch. IMO, if I'm going to pay $55 for a card, it better be stacked.

With the downward trend in PPV buys, it actually makes sense for the UFC to drop the price for certain cards. I think the UFC should go about a dynamic procing model for its PPV cards. Sure, you can charge $65 for a card that Conor or GSP are headlining, but not a card headlined by Cyborg vs Kunitskaya.

If the UFC lowered its PPV price for certain cards, it could attract a larger buy number, which leads to larger viewership #s. This would then lead to the UFC having more bargaining power with broadcasting companies for its TV deal, as well as its sponsors and advertisers. I think the UFC is hurting itself by raising the price at a time when less people are willing to buy cards that aren't stacked. Thoughts?

I can add my personal experience, which is that I've purchased fewer UFC PPVs the last few years. If they brought the price down around $40 I'd buy almost every one. Very few cards are high enough quality for me to justify spending $50-55.

 

[original doom]

Should be $24.99 and not a penny more.

id buy far more ppvs at that price.

 

[Don Quixote]

They’re are gonna lose their ass on this upcoming card. Lol

They should have televised UFC 222 for free.

 

[original doom]

I can add my personal experience, which is that I've purchased fewer UFC PPVs the last few years. If they brought the price down around $40 I'd buy almost every one. Very few cards are high enough quality for me to justify spending $50-55.

its too much money. sure 60 for a championship fight but 50 odd dollars every ppv is just milking it.

 

[007]

Once it goes up it can never come down and will fold like WWE did

 

[ralphus1]

Supply and Demand curve. For all of you Econ nerds out there.

 

[knowsitall]

Buying??




Chu chu motherfakas i'm sailing this ship.

 

[dangerousD]

Haha who the fooook is going to pay $65 for these cards ???

 

[SugarKrok]

I wasn't aware until recently that UFC is basically free in Brazil and more or less $20 everywhere outside North America. That sounds crazy, but I guess demand yonder is so low that a higher price point doesnt fly. I mean, if you look at a place like Australia, I can't imagine they are so strapped for cash they couldn't award the same prices North America endures. In the end, I guess it's just a difference of geography and Canada being perpetually under the wing of their much larger neighbours influence. All in all, I doubt the price raise will be offset by a significant portion boycotting. So, if UFC loses 10k buyers due to the $5 price, it won't matter.

Meh. They should focus on providing more *stacked ppv cards of course, but the quality has little to do with the price offered since Combat sports peak is monopolized by UFC. There is no real other option to the casual fan. Is that market branding? Or is it just that UFC really does have the best if the best in it,?
NBA or NCAA? Both can be enjoyable, but it's the pros that get millions- billions in sponsors...

 

[BLACKWOLF]

Yeah you guys get ripped in the States, we pay about $20 USD and that’s too much sometimes

 

[VIPERdude]

The UFC recently bumped its PPV price $5 to $54.99 SD and $64.99 HD. With the current trend of low PPV buys, do you think the UFC should actually be lowering its PPV price instead of raising it?

There are multiple upcoming cards that are expected to have low PPV buys, especially with the main event change of UFC 222. There are too many mediocre cards every month that is causing a lack of interest in fans to fork out $55 to watch. IMO, if I'm going to pay $55 for a card, it better be stacked.

With the downward trend in PPV buys, it actually makes sense for the UFC to drop the price for certain cards. I think the UFC should go about a dynamic procing model for its PPV cards. Sure, you can charge $65 for a card that Conor or GSP are headlining, but not a card headlined by Cyborg vs Kunitskaya.

If the UFC lowered its PPV price for certain cards, it could attract a larger buy number, which leads to larger viewership #s. This would then lead to the UFC having more bargaining power with broadcasting companies for its TV deal, as well as its sponsors and advertisers. I think the UFC is hurting itself by raising the price at a time when less people are willing to buy cards that aren't stacked. Thoughts?

They should but they wont. They will raise it as much as they can until they begin to feel a drop off in buys. I bet you by 2020 it will be $99 for HD (for the big cards...end of the year etc.). They know we will buy them if want to see them,

At the same time they also know many will go to free illegal streaming so

 

[pick999]

they should raise to 100

 

[GrantB13]

I'd buy more if they were cheaper. Especially with the quality they've been putting out. I'm sure they have people doing studies on buys per dollar and maybe they've found that it'll work out for them if a few less people buy but for more money. I'm not one of them so I'll be buying even less now.

 

[JT RIPPER]

I don't get it either. $50 was bad enough. Pretty soon it will be $70.

Dana: Just invite a dozen of your closest friends and have them pitch in $5 each. It's so cheap! Make it a party!

If you are going to that, why wouldn't you just go to a bar or restaurant? Some charge a cover during UFC cards of like $10 at most, others don't even do that. And the UFC charges bars and restaurants like $1200-$1500 per card. It's no wonder that not many places have them. One would think the UFC would prefer having more places showing their events.

Lol do most of us even have 12+ friends who watch MMA these days? I’m a dj and work most weekend nights, so do most of my friends so I’m pretty much forced to watch prelims and post fight shows then catch the main events a couple days later from alternative sources

 

[boxingskills]

The UFC needs to boost it 50 bucks per WMMA fight on the card. Greatness is worth every dime.

 

[Myrddin Wild]

This card don't got much more than the main & co-main for the casuals... but a closer look shows this Main card is gonna be a just bleed event. minus the one fight though... but hey... 4 out of 5 ain't bad at all. Should be a hell of a card.

 

[Hardcore MMA]

Yeah you guys get ripped in the States, we pay about $20 USD and that’s too much sometimes

Where do you live where it costs $20USD for a card? That's a fair price for some cards, like 222.

 

[KeepItRealist]

Lol do most of us even have 12+ friends who watch MMA these days? I’m a dj and work most weekend nights, so do most of my friends so I’m pretty much forced to watch prelims and post fight shows then catch the main events a couple days later from alternative sources

Don't ask me to explain Dana's logic, but that's always been his response when asked about PPV prices. Just invite your friends have them pitch in $5 each!

 

[BionicCommando]

It wouldn't impact business either way short of them having to sell more to make up for the loss.

The sort of person who is going to buy a UFC PPV is going to buy it whether it's 50 bucks or 150 bucks. Like there's a proven baseline for what a show with nothing on it will sell and I doubt if they took it down 5 bucks (or up 5 bucks even), it would have even the slightest difference.