The UFC Dominated Pay Per View in 2009
by Kid Nate on Feb 16, 2010 9:56 AM EST
in MMA News
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Dave Meltzer reports the numbers:
Top 10 PPV buy rates, 2009
1. UFC 100: Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir, July 11, 1.6 million
2. Boxing: Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto, Nov. 14, 1.25 million
3. Boxing: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez, Sept. 19, 1.05 millon
4. UFC 94: Georges St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn, Jan. 31, 920,000 buys
5. UFC 101: Penn vs. Kenny Florian/Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin, Aug. 8, 850,000
6. Boxing: Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton, May 2, 825,000
7t. UFC 107: Penn vs. Diego Sanchez, Dec. 12, 650,000
7t. UFC 97: Silva vs. Thales Leites/Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio Rua, April 18, 650,000
9. UFC 98: Lyoto Machida vs. Rashad Evans/Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra, May 23, 635,000
10. Wrestling: WWE WrestleMania 25, April 5, 582,000 buys
So the UFC had a great 2009, but note that of the six UFC events in the top 10, only two took place after UFC 100. The plague of bad luck that struck the UFC left its mark in dramatically reduced numbers for events like UFC 106 which should have featured Brock Lesnar defending his heavyweight title against Shane Carwin instead of Tito Ortiz vs Forrest Griffin in a match with no real significance.
Meltzer also points out that it will be a while before the UFC puts on a really big PPV again:
UFC’s biggest potential fight looks to be a trilogy fight between Lesnar and former champ Mir, who have split their first two matches. But that will only happen if Mir beats Shane Carwin on March 27 in Newark, N.J. St. Pierre and Penn both emerged off their match at UFC 94 as bigger stars than ever before, but neither has an opponent on the horizon in their own division ready to push them to record box office numbers. A rematch between the two is difficult because St. Pierre won in one-sided fashion last year.
The last weekend of March will be a big one for the pay-per-view industry. Mir vs. Carwin for the interim heavyweight title, with the winner getting Lesnar in the summer, will be a co-feature with the return of St. Pierre, defending against England’s Dan Hardy. That would be expected to do UFC’s best numbers since August, if not UFC 100.
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Woah
Adjust that picture!
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
now it's mega-sexy
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
I think UFC111 has got serious potential. Maybe not over a million buys, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see 800K+
www.tapology.com | twitter @tapology
dunno
if it’s a typo by Meltzer or what…but #9 should be UFC 98….not 99.
http://www.mmaforreal.com
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by Kelvin Hunt on Feb 16, 2010 10:09 AM EST up reply actions
the crazy thing here is that pacquiao and mayweather are getting like 10-15 million for each of their fights listed, plus around 65% of the ppv revenue. i don’t know what kind of ppv percentage guys like lesnar and st. pierre get, but i’d be shocked if if it was more than 1-5%. so basically the ufc pays out, at the absolute most, 10% of their revenue to the fighters whereas hbo/showtime probably pays out close to 90%. on top of this, the ufc has lots of other revenue streams with all their merchandizing, dvd sales, and their dominance of an entire cable network. boxing has the ppvs, plus manny pacquiao’s singing career in the phillipines. somebody correct my numbers, but the point is still pretty astounding.
by Trust Doesn't Rust on Feb 16, 2010 10:22 AM EST reply actions
I’ve always kind of wondered how much of this is that the UFC is an organization, and each show is that organization’s product, whereas it seems each boxing PPV is sort of it’s own entity. Sure, there are promotions and stuff involved, and HBO or w/e behind the scenes each time, but Pacquiao/Cotto is it’s own thing and Nog/Velasquez is the 110th presentation by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Just a thought..
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Feb 16, 2010 10:29 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I think you also need to consider that the UFC
is playing the role of vanguard in developing its Sport both nationally and internationally. Boxing exists, period. However, MMA is still getting acceptance, both legally and publicly in many places. Breaking into New York, as well as Europe, the Middle East, etc…isn’t without costs. I wouldn’t be surprised to also find out that the basic business models of Boxing and the UFC have some underlying differences that make their distribution of profits take place in different environments.
i think it’s just that boxing is operating on a dangerously near-sighted, don king-style, snatch and grab business model. while it’s certainly logical and just that the main fighter in a boxing match, like a musical performer at a big concert, should get most of the profits, the fact that guys like pacquiao and mayweather are getting such an enormous sum for what is essentially the same or even a lower revenue stream than a comparable ufc show says a lot about why boxing never gains any momentum from its occasional big fights. these major boxers and their promoters seem to be operating under the delusion that these fights are making way more than they actually are, or are way more important than they are, which is the only way it would justify the 1-2 fight schedule per year they take on.
by Trust Doesn't Rust on Feb 16, 2010 11:56 AM EST up reply actions
Great insight - not
Of course the second half of the year bombed. Injury hit cards + economic downturn = low PPV.
Personally I think every card after 110 to July’s expected Brock return has the potential to do a 800k plus.
UFC111 – 2 title fights and yes Mir is becoming a major draw.
UFC 112 – Two title fights
UFC 113 – One of the most anticipated rematches + Kimbo
UFC 114 – TUF coaches finally fight after huge build up + Forrest Griffin
UFC 115 – Chuck vs Tito
UFC 116 – Return of the big guy.
you really outdid everyone else on the insight-o-meter here.
UFC 111 is critical. it’s a very similar card to UFC 101. if it significantly underperforms 101 on buyrate, it will lend credence to the argument that UFC has lost momentum. more than just a string of weak cards, it would suggest that pound-for-pound they aren’t drawing as well for an equivalent card as they were 6 months ago.
www.tapology.com | twitter @tapology
No it won’t UFC 101 vastly overperformed no one was expecting the buyrate to be that high, UFC 111 will do a strong buyrate but Hardy is no where near the name that Kenny was to the mainstream fans. UFC 101 had 4 name fighters facing off, UFC 111 has 2 name fighters and 2 up and comers the cards aren’t equivalent as far as the non-hardcore fans goes.
I respectfully disagree, good sir.
I believe Hardy is more popular than you might think. A few casual fans have told me how excited they are to see this fight and think it will be competitive. I was a little surprised and told them the lopsided betting odds.
And Mir vs Carwin? That’s a major selling point. And then Fitch vs Alves rounds it out. I look at it as being constructed very similarly to UFC 101.
www.tapology.com | twitter @tapology
GSP vs Hardy
I believe ufc are doing some specials on this fight which should up the PPV numbers.
THE FACTS
The issue is this. There is a glut of fights that are going to be broacast on TV for FREE, starting this year, and it’s just going to increase.
It costs $55 for a HD PPV. The PPV model will need to change sooner or later.
Hell, you don’t pay $55 to watch a football game on Sundays do you?
You don’t pay $55 to watch the Superbowl, do you?
And Zuffa has the nuts to try and make WEC a PPV machine…it ain’t gonna happen.
See my POLL here.
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