Top Rank hopes for growth in China

The Sports Business Journal’featured an interesting article on Top Rank’s attempts to make inroads in China.

The article (subscription recommended) focuses on the boxing promotion’s efforts to gain momentum into China which is described as the world’s fastest-growing economy.  While Manny Pacquiao will make his second appearance in Macau later this year, it takes a glimpse of how the promotion is trying to build an audience with a Chinese audience.

Notably, Top Rank, in partnership with a Chinese sports marketing firm, debuted a weekly tv show on 10 regional sports channels within the country giving it wide distribution in the country. “Fists of Power,” which features fights from the Top Rank library and live events promoted by the company acts as a promotional tool for the company.

Top Rank held its first event this past August in mainland China.  Although not big, and perhaps just breaking even on its endeavor, the long-term goal is to become a mainstay in the country. The event was aired live and on delay on state-sponsored channels which has the potential to reach more than 1 billion households.

Payout Perspective:

Expansion internationally seems like the most logical step for promotions such as the UFC and Top Rank.  The obvious reason is the opening of a new audience.  The relative strength of its economy and the sheer size of the population make China a great growth opportunity. Top Rank follows the same playbook as the UFC does with its TUF series.  Allow people to see its product on television for free hoping that it entices them to patronize the promotion.  Despite Manny Pacquiao’s decline in popularity stateside, Top Rank hopes his appearances in Macau open up the Chinese market. From there, it hopes that the proliferation of local talent (e.g. former Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming) will propel the promotion in the country.