International UFC Interest
by Michael Rome on Jul 9, 2008 2:31 PM EDT
in MMA News
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Google trend data can be tricky and complicated, and it's important not to extrapolate too much from it. However, they always have the top ten regions where there is the most search interest in a given topic. Over the last 30 days, here are the top 10 most interested regions in the UFC:
1. Canada
2. The United States
3. The Phillipines
4. Ireland
5. Brazil
6. United Kingdom
7. Finland
8. Australia
9. Sweden
10. France
Just as a note of clarification, this does not mean there were more searches in the Phillipines than in the United States for the UFC. My impression is that it means that out of all google searches in that region, this is the level of interest in the UFC.
The interest in the Phillipines is probably the most surprising, but I guess it shouldn't be given the UFC's strong television presence there. People were far too quick to condemn the idea to run in the Phillipines without looking further into it.
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1. Canada-Just had their first UFC
2. The United States-Obvious.
3. The Philippines-Recently rumored as a future sight for the UFC.
4. Ireland-UK expansion.
5. Brazil-Obvious.
6. United Kingdom-The expansion again.
7. Finland-I would assume due to the growing interest in mma.
8. Australia-Recently gone through some regulation.
9. Sweden-Same as Finland. MMA is growing with the K1.
10. France-They must be reconsidering their decision to allow limited rules mma, lol.
Where are the Asian countries? Dana must have really pissed Japan off!
"They said you was hung!!"
"And they was RIGHT!"
1. Canada-Just had their first UFC
I think it has more to do with it than that. There are just a LOT of MMA fans here, at least here in Calgary anyway. It’s common to see bars and pubs in my part of the city having UFC fight events and advertise it days in advance. They all charge a cover-charge and usually have a pretty good attendance.
No doubt, I wasn’t saying they had no interest before. The success of that card alone shows how big mma is in Canada. I’m just saying a spike in google could be partially attributed to that.
"They said you was hung!!"
"And they was RIGHT!"
I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again: the Philippines will be an easy sell if they market that thing properly. We’re quick to embrace anything that North America throws at us, and we’re already treating guys like Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Vera like stars.
And to BJJDenver: We’re as close as you can get to Japan at this point (geographically speaking).
The interest in the Phillipines is probably the most surprising, but I guess it shouldn’t be given the UFC’s strong television presence there. People were far too quick to condemn the idea to run in the Phillipines without looking further into it.
The interest in the phillipines has much to do with Brandon vera (half fillipino) and to an increasing degree the WEC’s Mark Munoz. Munoz is also a filipino american and the ufc is using the interest in Vera to shed light on Munoz. I’ve read several articles that the fillipino papers have done on Munoz, and vera is usually quoted liberally in them.
on the ufc 85 countdown show they showed the big following that vera has in the phillipines. they mentioned that about 4,000 folks showed up for a public workout…. problem is it was a free work out. If they do shows over there they would have to be basically house shows, with no PPV coverage. The cost of sending all the production folks over there would tend to rule it out for PPV. If they do go into this market is will have to be with diminished expectations. I think it will be hard for them to have the demographics to support them in the phillipines unless ticket pricing structure and salary structure are scaled way back. Sure they have strong television (Balls TV is one of the more popular cable stations) there but that isn’t going to necessarily translate to them being able to afford the ticket prices associated with a normal ufc show….. i would move their stuff from free tv over to PPV before i would think about actually putting on shows over there.
just my opinion though….
I was at the Pacquiao fight
And the Filipino fans are absolutely RABID and cross several major demographic groups.
Well, clearly if they went to the Phillipines they would drop prices in a big way. It would be more about the PR of going there and selling out a huge show than making a big gate.
PR doesn’t feed the bottom line….. the UK shows have been a drain on funds even with their huge numbers they are doing in the stadiums….. are they willing to throw money down two wells as opposed to the one they are doing that with now (UK)....they need to find some way to make those uk shows profiatable before they start burning money in the phillipines
Have big ppv draws on the card. It seems every time they have a UK card, a lot of people are bitching about the lineup. I think that could help the shows quite a bit.
"They said you was hung!!"
"And they was RIGHT!"
To Their Credit
UFC 85 had Liddell and Shogun initially…and then the injury bug struck.
Kelvin Hunt
I'm like those boyz on the sidelines...cause I ain't playing...
Not necessarily. The Phillipines are far poorer on average than North America, but it’s not a destitute, “3rd world” (I hate that term) country these days and there are lots of people, especially in the capital with enough money to buy tickets. Also, it’s somewhat cheaper to operate over there – the venue wouldn’t cost nearly as much.
And something that lots of people are overlooking: the Phillipines have one of the LONGEST histories of active support for professional combat sports around. The Fillipinos, not to overgeneralize, LOVE boxing, and flock to many kinds of martial arts contests (including professional stick fighting, which terrifies me). With that kind of culture and a growing “have” population, there’s money to be made.
by AJB on Jul 9, 2008 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t doubt that they are rabid…. the guy is like a national hero ..but was the Pacquiao fight in Manila? Nope it was stateside….because the numbers weren’t there for it…. they would have to do a stadium show in the phillipines in order to equal the gate they drew on about 8500 attendance in the states.
There’s some serious misinformation going on about the profitability of those UK shows. No show on its own has lost money, it is just the gigantic cost they paid in the beginning that has kept it from being profitable so far. That’s a one time cost though, and soon enough those shows will move into the profitable territory.
yeah… they were sinking a ton into marketing and the like…..at some point those costs will be cut back and the UFC has to hope that at that point they have achieved a level of success that won’t require that level of spending? is that what will happen? who knows… but i wouldn’t consider it a slam dunk….
Most of the sink was in an initial payment rumored to be upward of $10 million. Since then, the shows have all been marginally profitable, but not in large amounts that can recover all of that initial payment.
Part of the problem is the last two UFC shows in the UK which were PPV shows had terrible cards and went on two weeks after major shows. If they ever run a big PPV in the UK, the buyrate over here can definitely make things profitable. The level of spending on advertising is already very much reduced from 2007.
What exactly are we talking about in regards to an “initial payment?” Is it marketing or an access thing or something totally different?
by Cannon Jacques on Jul 9, 2008 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions
i imagine start-up costs….. offices(if in london that is beyond expensive)...signing bonuses to get staff over there, costs of promoter’s license, etc…. wonder if they have a training faciltity in the uk like they dod in vegas?
They also paid a MASSIVE amount of money to a British legal team to do prep work to make sure that everything was above board, redesign contracts to jive with UK law, etc. etc. A friend of a relative is a lawyer with one of the firms they used, and he says at least three separate firms were involved, and each took a massive fee with at least one still on retainer.
by AJB on Jul 9, 2008 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Not many people are, but it should be assumed for a company as large and, frankly, controversial and open to lawsuits as the UFC is. Considering how laws change just from state to state in the US, and even between US and Canada, I imagine the UFC was very careful before they got into the quagmire that is 600 years of UK legal precident.
by AJB on Jul 9, 2008 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions
That makes sense. I had a feeling there were some significant law/government components to moving into the UK besides basic setup costs. I also wasn’t aware how big their marketing campaign was. Other promotions (i.e. Affliction) should take note. Marketing is especially important when you’re trying to break into a new market.
by Cannon Jacques on Jul 9, 2008 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions
They paid a shitload for a HUGE advertising campaign to start, in addition to the things Rob stated. I lived in London, and my friends over there told me that for a few months you couldn’t leave a subway station without seeing UFC posters. It has cooled down significantly since then. I don’t think they have a UFC training facility but I’m not sure.
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I wonder if Dana White has BE streaming on his 72” flat panel T.V. in his office?
If not He should!
Question about the google graph?
i’ve never seen this sort of data?
does anyone know if this graph/hits is indexed against population?
As Rome said, it’s expressed as a proportion of overall internet activity in that area (I believe that the actual calculation is far more complicated, but that this is the “non-algorithmic” basis, if what I’ve heard is correct). THat means that it’s NOT indexed against population, but IS indexed against internet use, which is probably more useful in this regard. I mean, who can argue that the MMA generation is directly tied to the internet generation? Also, internet users tend to have more personal resources and finances, and thus more money to spend on luxury items like UFC fights.
by AJB on Jul 9, 2008 9:24 PM EDT up reply actions
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