UFC PPV sales 2017 *updated for UFC 214*

[PASSAFIST]

It is a breath of fresh air when real numbers are presented as evidence to back up one's post.
All too rare not just on sherdog but on a global scale.

The PPV numbers do appear low, but this just reinforces why combat sports need charismatic stars.
If every hardcore MMA fan bought the PPV the numbers would still be low.
As much as many of the MMA elitists hate it, the UFC and every other MMA organization needs the casual fan to participate in order to grow the sport and provide us with content.

 

[FrankieNYC]

I like your posts because they provide information about the market quickly - I don't need to do research, you do it for me/us. Often you also provide some top line analysis which saves me thinking about things. And I can post crap at the same time and wind up Conor haters. Very near a perfect world.

Thanks again
I am far from an expert & never claim to be, but I take info others who I respect find/research/report & try to make sense out of it. If I can, I post it & try to break it down. If I cannot I don't until I get more info that I understand.

I get some dislike finance/numbers. Whether they are like Nick Diaz (what is this The money Channel?) that are just confused or they just don't care.
But in MMA, it is directly correlated to why fights get made, where they are presented, who gets pushed, etc.

 

[FrankieNYC]

It is a breath of fresh air when real numbers are presented as evidence to back up one's post.
All too rare not just on sherdog but on a global scale.

The PPV numbers do appear low, but this just reinforces why combat sports need charismatic stars.
If every hardcore MMA fan bought the PPV the numbers would still be low.
As much as many of the MMA elitists hate it, the UFC and every other MMA organization needs the casual fan to participate in order to grow the sport and provide us with content.

respect the 100/101 avatar, so I hope I do the above

Show has changed, but hell he is in his 60's & I still won't forget the glory days

 

[PASSAFIST]

respect the 100/101 avatar, so I hope I do the above

Show has changed, but hell he is in his 60's & I still won't forget the glory days

You certainly do and it does not go unnoticed.

The show has definitely changed, but everyone deserves to change and evolve, especially with age and time.

 

[FrankieNYC]

You certainly do and it does not go unnoticed.

The show has definitely changed, but everyone deserves to change and evolve, especially with age and time.

Thanks man

What I don't get are the HS haters.
They listen to THSS everyday & discuss every detail of a show they hate.
They also make zero sense
HS is supposedly gay (to them), but he is depressed bc Beth wants to leave him (last weeks rumors)?
WHICH IS IT?

the new one is HS & Beth has a 20 something year old love child ... of course they also say he divorced Allison bc he is gay lol

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

211 was lucky to sell more than 250k to be honest.

 

[Ken Fresno]

It is a breath of fresh air when real numbers are presented as evidence to back up one's post.
All too rare not just on sherdog but on a global scale.

The PPV numbers do appear low, but this just reinforces why combat sports need charismatic stars.
If every hardcore MMA fan bought the PPV the numbers would still be low.
As much as many of the MMA elitists hate it, the UFC and every other MMA organization needs the casual fan to participate in order to grow the sport and provide us with content.

This should be saved and auto-posted in every thread about ppv buys.

 

[Fraz]

Fastest shrinking sport in the world, wooooo

 

[fiftywattmafia]

This shows what a bum sport MMA has become. It cannot survive without casuals and their $$. Where are the so called million hardcore fans?

ALL sports cannot survive without so called "casuals"

Go to a fucking baseball game and watch how many people are WATCHING the game. 8 out of 10 don't give a flying fuck. On their phones, slapping their meat, eating, DRINKING. NOT FANS. But there they are. And without them the sport would dry up.

Same for UFC. So come one and come all. You're invited. Otherwise this shit's in trouble.

 

[Sjb1888]

Even Conor's numbers will start to slip in the future, the PPV model is dying.

As streaming technology keeps improving the numbers will continue to drop...

I'd love to know just how many people actually watched 211 live i'm betting more than a million.

 

[FrankieNYC]

ALL sports cannot survive without so called "casuals"

Go to a fucking baseball game and watch how many people are WATCHING the game. 8 out of 10 don't give a flying fuck. On their phones, slapping their meat, eating, DRINKING. NOT FANS. But there they are. And without them the sport would dry up.

Same for UFC. So come one and come all. You're invited. Otherwise this shit's in trouble.

Leaving in the 8th inning & spending more time at the food areas

 

[Sugar Shane]

Even Conor's numbers will start to slip in the future, the PPV model is dying.

As streaming technology keeps improving the numbers will continue to drop...

I'd love to know just how many people actually watched 211 live i'm betting more than a million.

This is something that is challenging. With so many of the younger generations using streaming sources for TV, it will be challenging to keep this model in its current format. The irony here is that, we have a large portion of our fan base calling for higher salaries for the fighters, yet the same people are streaming the fights and not paying for the content.

The Fox deal is a bit longer than it could have been. The revenue stream from networks is going to have to account for a higher percentage of their revenue.

The model will certainly change a bit once the inherited contracts expire. It will be interesting to see where things are in 5 years.

 

[FrankieNYC]

This is something that is challenging. With so many of the younger generations using streaming sources for TV, it will be challenging to keep this model in its current format. The irony here is that, we have a large portion of our fan base calling for higher salaries for the fighters, yet the same people are streaming the fights and not paying for the content.

The Fox deal is a bit longer than it could have been. The revenue stream from networks is going to have to account for a higher percentage of their revenue.

The model will certainly change a bit once the inherited contracts expire. It will be interesting to see where things are in 5 years.

Good post, but the Fox deal is "longer" that it could be? Why do you say that?
I have guesses, but don't want to put words in your mouth ... I mean post

 

[FrankieNYC]

@tithas @ThePeoplesMMA @Codpiece @wilKO @Hardkore @Drake

Tagged a few that I know like this info

I went looking for some info I was not 100% on & ...

UFC's current Fox deal averages about $110m a year for 7 years. Topping off at about $150m in 2018.
Like most TV deals it escalated yearly.
Also UFC carries ALL cost for production. That was something Lorenzo insisted on & Ari is not a fan of.
Expected US TV bidders are Fox (*huge favorite) Turner & NBC with others (ESPN most likely bidding but not $300m per)
As I said in many threads, UFC is open to a true partner as far as UFC goes or just a partial partner (content distribution related) **
& ... like I & many others have posted, the WME era begins with this deal *** - no matter how badly some think Ari lives & dies by every PPV & rating

_

* Fox Sports is considered a front-runner to renew the deal because UFC programming is a big part of FS1’s schedule and generally draws the channel’s biggest ratings. FS1’s program schedule would have a big hole to fill if the UFC went to another network.

** The package the UFC will take to market will include the rights to four annual broadcast windows that Fox now holds, six annual cable events and weekly programming on Fox Sports 1, plus the UFC’s over-the-top Fight Pass service. It is not expected to include the UFC’s lucrative pay-per-view business, which will likely be retained by WME-IMG. But some media executives believe any winning bidder will have more of a say in what matches will be part of the UFC’s pay-per-view events. Whether a network will share in some of the PPV revenue is a deal point that will be negotiated, sources said.

*** The negotiations mark the first significant deal under the UFC’s new owners, WME-IMG, who paid $4 billion for the company in July. Much of the company’s aggressive bid was based on leveraging the UFC’s media rights around the world, especially domestically. This will test its bullish attitude about the marketplace.
The UFC’s timing is noteworthy. On the plus side, it comes when most major sports rights are tied up well into the next decade, making the UFC appealing to media companies looking to grow their audience with the UFC’s fans, who are coveted by all networks because of their youth and passion.

Above info from Meltzer, SBJ at various times since the deal

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

UFC 208 PPV buys: 200,000 (2017)
UFC 209 PPV buys: 250,000 (2017)
UFC 210 PPV buys: 300,000 (2017)
UFC 211 PPV buys: 300,000 (2017)

Now lets compare to very old UFC events, to see how much UFC has "grown"

UFC 2 PPV buys: 300,000 (1994)
UFC 5 PPV buys: 260,000 (1995)
UFC 6 PPV buys: 250,000 (1995)
UFC 8 PPV buys: 300,000 (1996)

Yes granted there was no streaming back in 1995, so people had to buy the PPV to watch it, its still not moved forward enough. I think in 2007, 2008, 2009 it was moving forward hugely and bigger than ever, but last 5 years its getting less popular.

A lot of the people I work with they still ask does that Chuck guy fight these days. And many of them know Tank Abbott and also Shamrock. If I asked them about Nunes or Garbrandt or Woodley or guys like that they wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about

 

[FrankieNYC]

UFC 208 PPV buys: 200,000 (2017)
UFC 209 PPV buys: 250,000 (2017)
UFC 210 PPV buys: 300,000 (2017)
UFC 211 PPV buys: 300,000 (2017)

Now lets compare to very old UFC events, to see how much UFC has "grown"

UFC 2 PPV buys: 300,000 (1994)
UFC 5 PPV buys: 260,000 (1995)
UFC 6 PPV buys: 250,000 (1995)
UFC 8 PPV buys: 300,000 (1996)

Yes granted there was no streaming back in 1995, so people had to buy the PPV to watch it, its still not moved forward enough. I think in 2007, 2008, 2009 it was moving forward hugely and bigger than ever, but last 5 years its getting less popular.

I know you like posting this & get why (lol), but you really can't compare
But the facts are funny

Heck concerts were doing 250k on PPV

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

I know you like posting this & get why (lol), but you really can't compare
But the facts are funny

Heck concerts were doing 250k on PPV

Haha true, I wonder what Celine Dion concert would do when she was at her most popular, because I went to one with my parents ages ago and it was amazing, can't spot a empty seat.

The arena tickets are a problem for UFC too, not only PPV. For example I went to UFC 106 and they said its sold out, but nooooooooooooo way its sold out in real, there were so many empty seats, thousands, you can see them, I thought at first its because its the prelims, but there were thousands of empty seats in the main card.

 

[Gamer2k4]

And people still wonder why the UFC so over-hyped Ronda. Once ever? Maybe not in terms of fighting skill, but in money earned for the UFC, she's near the top.

 

[FrankieNYC]

Haha true, I wonder what Celine Dion concert would do when she was at her most popular, because I went to one with my parents ages ago and it was amazing, can't spot a empty seat.

The arena tickets are a problem for UFC too, not only PPV. For example I went to UFC 106 and they said its sold out, but nooooooooooooo way its sold out in real, there were so many empty seats, thousands, you can see them, I thought at first its because its the prelims, but there were thousands of empty seats in the main card.

106? Want me to check for you?

 

[209 Life]

209 would have cracked a million if it was in Stockton