The UFC had its best 9 months in the company’s history this past year according to Endeavor’s Third Quarter 2021 Results on Monday. The UFC had record-breaking revenue and adjusted EBITDA.
The parent company of Zuffa, Endeavor outperformed Wall Street forecasts announcing $1.39B in revenue with a net of $63.6 million. The company also “raised its guidance for the year” from $4.8-$4.85B in revenue to $4.89-$4.95B. Endeavor’s sports division which includes the UFC and PBR had revenue of $288.5M. Endeavor noted that the revenue was off from Q3 of 2020 “due to the UFC holding extra events a year go as COVID pushed some events initially slated for Q1 and Q2 into Q3 and Q4, as well as one-time contra t termination fee of $25 million.”
The earnings call highlighted the fact that the UFC has had the best 9 months of the company’s history. This includes 3 sold out PPV events during the quarter highlighted by the success of UFC
UFC sold out all 3 PPV events and this past July’s UFC 264. Gate revenue enhanced the revenues for the UFC as capacity crowds were allowed back into arenas such as the sell out at T-Mobile Arena for UFC 268 which featured Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.
As more people became vaccinated, the return of spectators and going out have helped the UFC. In addition to live gate receipts, the UFC has benefited from the rise of commercial PPVs with more people going out to bars and restaurants.
On the call, Ari Emmanuel stated that UFC sponsorship is up 59% with room to grow. The company signed sponsor deals with Icon Meals, Battle Motors and Zip Recruiter.
The UFC has taken advantage of its popularity worldwide and forged 9 new media rights deals in the Asia Pacific region.
Also, the UFC was praised as the key driver for ESPN+ and the rise in subscriptions. Notably, it was revealed during the earnings call that the Ultimate Fighter’s return on ESPN+ saw the better viewership than the last 3 seasons of TUF on FS1.
Payout Perspective:
An outstanding quarter for the UFC as it was one of the key highlights for Endeavor on its earnings call. With the return of fans to arenas, gate receipts have helped the company with its earnings. It is also worthy to note the media rights licenses it has been able to obtain and the sponsorships it is drawing. These sectors of the company’s portfolio may still have opportunities. Add the fact that Disney is bullish about its appeal on ESPN+ and the UFC is in prime position for bigger returns in the coming quarters.
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