The Sports Business Journal recently conducted a reader survey with over 2,400 participants on a variety of topics, and the results were mixed regarding the UFC’s future.
Here’s a sampling of some of the more relevant results regarding the UFC and the business of MMA in general:
Will the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) continue to grow in mainstream acceptance or has it peaked as a sports property?
Continue to grow – 46.04%
Has peaked – 42.84%
Will decline – 11.12%
1340 responses
Biggest threat to sports:
Economy – 26.04%
Disconnect with fanbase – 21.16%
Rising ticket prices – 17.36%
Inflated salaries – 16.28%
Integrity of the game – 6.00%
2316 responses
When will the economy show significant recovery?
Second half of 2010 – 50.09%
2011 or later – 25.24%
First half of 2010 – 22.20%
Fourth quarter 2009 – 2.48%
2302 responses
Over the next five years, sports sponsorship spending will:
Increase slightly – 41.82%
Decrease slightly – 28.26%
Remain the same – 21.33%
Decrease dramatically – 6.00%
Increase dramatically – 2.59%
966 responses
The main hesitation that sponsors have in signing an athlete as a spokesperson:
Unpredictable athlete behaviour – 69.97%
Insufficient consumer reach – 13.11%
Insufficient access for personal appearances – 10.01%
Conflicts with athlete’s other deals – 3.61%
Other – 3.3%
Payout Perspective:
It kind of relates to MMAPayout.com’s discussion yesterday about the expectations that have been set for the UFC (and in part, by the UFC).
The latest PPV buyrates haven’t been mind-blowing – the UFC has peaked – they say. I’m not convinced.
There are 26,000 martial arts gyms across the country, and patronage is growing exponentially. The regulation and television distribution of MMA is growing rapidly. And the UFC is about to smash its previous revenue and PPV records.
Are there concerns? Sure, but that’s the nature of any business.
Heard Tito vs Griffin may have done only 330K PPV buys.
i think its reached its peak with lidell vs ortiz…i beleive dana inflates the ppv buys…specially for ufc 100…. richard shafer challenged him to account for his numbers…the least that dana could have done is put a press conference to clear up the allegation of shaefer..but he merely kept quiet….also arum announced publicly that ufc 100 was south of 1 million…as any pr person would tell you..you imediatley quash any of those talks through facts.but dana again kept quiet….
Unpredictable athlete behavior – 69.97%
~Thanks, War Machine.