Google searches put BellatorNYC PPV well below UFC PPV numbers

[FrankieNYC]

Until Wednesday (earliest) this is all we can speculate with

Bellator was the single most-searched term on Google on Saturday in the U.S., although the volume of 100,000 searches as of midnight was closer to a figure that a UFC television show would do, and well below what a UFC pay-per-view show would do.

Meltzer usually gets DTV & a few cable outlets by Wednesday for an early projection.

For those that don't know, different providers release their numbers at different times & in-line with their accounting practices.
Some do it the Monday after & some a certain day of the month.

Coker says he see's another PPV for them early 2018.
I'd be surprised if this does under 200k if they do, but a lot of MMA decisions surprise me ... including Viacom even agreeing to do a PPV when they could have had record ratings on Spike

Hopefully they do over 200k.
Both companies need to be strong

 

[UFCFAN18]

I'm thinking the Spike numbers are going to be fairly high and the PPV numbers will be low. 250k would be decent we have to remember Bellator is not established in the PPV scene.

 

[VulcanNervPinch]

The UFC has decades and hundreds of PPV events worth of brand recognition, and their PPV floor has been dropping - they've gone as low as 115 twice in recent years. Werdum vs Miocic - HW championship of the world - only did 217, somehow.

If Bellator's in that range, it was respectable.
If they miss 6 figures, it's rough
Clearing 217 is complete triumph

 

[AtomicPanther]

How do google searches give an indication of sales? Does that just mean there's a ton of people who have no idea how to watch PPV on their cable/satellite? Wouldn't it more likely be something like; "how to watch bellator for free"?

 

[tithas]

How do google searches give an indication of sales? Does that just mean there's a ton of people who have no idea how to watch PPV on their cable/satellite? Wouldn't it more likely be something like; "how to watch bellator for free"?

Because we have years of data showing increased searches for events result in increased PPV sales. Most casual fans are impulse PPV buyers. They hear something last minute do a small bit on internet research then hit the buy button.

 

[FrankieNYC]

Because we have years of data showing increased searches for events result in increased PPV sales. Most casual fans are impulse PPV buyers. They hear something last minute do a small bit on internet research then hit the buy button.

It is a weird metric for sure, but like your post says it gives an indication of interest.
It is not an exact science, but more times than not gives you an idea of where PPV numbers might fall.

 

[FrankieNYC]

The UFC has decades and hundreds of PPV events worth of brand recognition, and their PPV floor has been dropping - they've gone as low as 115 twice in recent years. Werdum vs Miocic - HW championship of the world - only did 217, somehow.

If Bellator's in that range, it was respectable.
If they miss 6 figures, it's rough
Clearing 217 is complete triumph

Coker himself said they need to do 200k ... lofty expectations
He thought 250k coming in
The last PPV did 110k
Hopefully they hit 200k

 

[Muay Thai #1]

Well, PPV numbers are not gong to be near the UFC for a number of reasons like fans aren't used to purchasing Bellator PPVs, bars may not even know to purchase and show the Bellator PPV that usually show UFC PPVs. Hell, Bellator just isn't as recognizable yet.

It will take some time before Bellator can really put their numbers against the UFC's fairly. The numbers just need to be "promising"

 

[FrankieNYC]

I'm thinking the Spike numbers are going to be fairly high and the PPV numbers will be low. 250k would be decent we have to remember Bellator is not established in the PPV scene.

250k would be HUGE
Good point about the Spike ratings, we should hear today

 

[FrankieNYC]

Well, PPV numbers are not gong to be near the UFC for a number of reasons like fans aren't used to purchasing Bellator PPVs, bars may not even know to purchase and show the Bellator PPV that usually show UFC PPVs. Hell, Bellator just isn't as recognizable yet.

It will take some time before Bellator can really put their numbers against the UFC's fairly. The numbers just need to be "promising"

Bars never figure in to the numbers that come out
I agree with the rest, but the companies own expectations were different & they expended for that

 

[Ol'Ironhead]

The belator search on Google just means people were looking for free streams LOL

 

[method115]

The UFC has decades and hundreds of PPV events worth of brand recognition, and their PPV floor has been dropping - they've gone as low as 115 twice in recent years. Werdum vs Miocic - HW championship of the world - only did 217, somehow.

If Bellator's in that range, it was respectable.
If they miss 6 figures, it's rough
Clearing 217 is complete triumph

This. If they hit over 200k then they did amazingly well IMO.

 

[FrankieNYC]

This. If they hit over 200k then they did amazingly well IMO.

As far as reality I agree 100%
But They hoped higher. I think that is a lot to hope for, but hopefully Coker knows WTF he is doing.
He over-estimated Fedor & the Grand Prix worth for SF & the owners decided to sell due to that.
It was a risk, but I hope Fertittas are not the only MMA gamblers that win.
a stronger #2 is best for MMA

 

[dim_]

The belator search on Google just means people were looking for free streams LOL

It was mostly me trying to work out how to watch the online prelims in the UK. Turns out you couldnt

 

[Cousin Oliver]

I wouldn't take Meltzer's PPV numbers as gospel when it comes to Bellator. He reported that Bellator 120 did 65k buys, when it actually did 100k (that number was confirmed in the Rampage lawsuit).

 

[CC27]

think lower end UFC PPV that do like 200k buys get like 500k searches.

The massive million buy PPV do millions of searches.

dont know what a 100 to 200k searches means.

I think prelim ratings will be strong, I could see 800k average or more, pop a million plus for the Bader/Davis fight which would be a great rating for that.

PPV I still dont think its gonna do over 150k. Just because of the numbers other orgs have done in the past a 200k number stands out as great and it might be but it also might not be enough for them to make money on this show.

250k I think is what they are really targeting to make money and be a success and I'd be shocked if they got near that.

 

[skylolow]

I'd be shocked if this PPV reached anywhere near 200K.

I think 100K would be solid.

Fans of MMA are getting sick and tired of paying for PPV's. The UFC's numbers show this over a course of a year. They cherry pick top events and are being more frugal then ever about everything in between. They have seen some PPV's dip down to numbers not seen since 2004. Wasn't that long ago the bottom crap PPV's did a good 300K. So to think Bellator with that card did 200K I think is wishful thinking.

Personally I like to see Bellator explore the "Fightpass" way of doing business for big cards and there media content beyond TV. Since they can't cash in on the biggest payday the US TV market deal since Viacom/Spike owns them they need to find away to get that money.

 

[FrankieNYC]

I wouldn't take Meltzer's PPV numbers as gospel when it comes to Bellator. He reported that Bellator 120 did 65k buys, when it actually did 100k (that number was confirmed in the Rampage lawsuit).

As someone who follows this closely, I can tell you the above is only partially correct.
A few days after the event, he said early trends look to be 65k & then people ran with those numbers.
When he gave his final estimates, it was a little over 100k

He gets the same PPV info from the same people for all PV's.

He gives early estimates & then updates as more numbers come in.
EX: he said the last UFC PPV's early numbers look to be just under 300k. That was not the final (which takes about a month)

EDIT: funny thing is, he is pretty close with Coker (he lives in San jose), so he would be more "inside" with Bellator than he even is with UFC. He is friendly with DW, but not "friends". He was close with Silver (he was a subscriber years before he was in UFC) though

 

[FrankieNYC]

I'd be shocked if this PPV reached anywhere near 200K.

I think 100K would be solid.

Fans of MMA are getting sick and tired of paying for PPV's. The UFC's numbers show this over a course of a year. They cherry pick top events and are being more frugal then ever about everything in between. They have seen some PPV's dip down to numbers not seen since 2004. Wasn't that long ago the bottom crap PPV's did a good 300K. So to think Bellator with that card did 200K I think is wishful thinking.

Personally I like to see Bellator explore the "Fightpass" way of doing business for big cards and there media content beyond TV. Since they can't cash in on the biggest payday the US TV market deal since Viacom/Spike owns them they need to find away to get that money.

I am with you, but think what made Bellator "fan friendly" was the fact they were FREE.
As a TV station owner, I don't get why Viacom took their biggest MMA night off PPV. They could have broken Spike records possibly (as least for MMA) to risk losing money or breaking even

 

[skylolow]

I am with you, but think what made Bellator "fan friendly" was the fact they were FREE.
As a TV station owner, I don't get why Viacom took their biggest MMA night off PPV. They could have broken Spike records possibly (as least for MMA) to risk losing money or breaking even

I'm assuming they went the PPV route simply to just have a shot at making money on the card.

We all know MSG is one of if not the most expensive place to hold an event. Top acts in entertainment even say many times they only break even playing at MSG and some lose money. It's all about the prestige of doing a show there. Then there is no doubt this whole event was by land slide the most costly from a fighter salary standpoint that Bellator has ever spent. Plus the most advertising they ever done for an event.