SBJ Surveys the TV Landscape
November 4, 2008
The Sports buniess Journal has a nice summary of the MMA television landscape. The story goes into detail about the broadening sponsor base that has come to pass with the sport’s growth:
The UFC still attracts gaming and vitamin supplement companies, but programming is now pulling in big spenders in categories such as beer, quick-service restaurants, and men’s health products. “The list of people who won’t (advertise) is getting smaller as the ratings get higher,” Kay said.
Research compiled by Anheuser-Busch, a UFC sponsor and buyer of advertising, found its programming delivers young males better than any other televised sport except the NFL, an A-B executive said.
The last bit of info the fuel that is propelling the attractiveness of the UFC programming. While the strength of MMA programming in delivering the 18-34 demographic has always been known, this is some concrete data to back that contention.
The article also notes that with the recent contractions in the MMA market, their may be a dearth of TV options in the future:
Considering the recent failures of promoters ProElite and the International Fight League, the amount of MMA programming available is much smaller than it was at the beginning of the year.
“When you look at the landscape right now, it’s very narrow,” said Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights.
