I've been wondering this for about a day now.. it seems to me there are a couple of avenues that the UFC is taking their PPV revenues and tv viewers from. 1. They creating new PPV customers and/or 2. They are taking customers from wrestling entertainment (ie WWE) and/or 3. They are taking customers from boxing My hunch is that they are definately increasing the PPV pie, but they are also likely taking quite a bit of revenues from the WWE, TNA and that type of entertainment, as you can pretty much get the real thing from the UFC in terms of blood and guts.. Boxing, I think is different enough to stand more on it's own for what it is, but if it puts on enough bad cards, it too could loose views to the UFC. Thoughts?
I think it takes somewhat from WWE in addition to its own home made fanbase, I think it can coexist with boxing.
boxing has alot big fights not on PPV unlike MMA, With Regular HBO who would do 20 to 25 cards a year and showtime with 15 to 20. UFC is 80% PPV. Boxing is in a very good position and has been in the last 20 years
they are taking customers from boxing, wwe, creating their own fan base and they also have the luxury of taking fans from EVERY combat sport. On top of this, they have done well to advertise it to the technical lover and pub brawler meathead.
I don't think mma has converted to many boxing fans to totally leave boxing and now only watch mma. What you may have however is young guys who 20 years ago would have been boxing fans...but now are not and instead watch mma. But I don't know if you can say those guys were "taken" from boxing...since the actual indivduals where never boxing fans themselves...just guys who would have been fans in another time and place.
They're getting their views from WWE and from the popular reality show. Boxing has put on absolute crap most of this year, boxing isn't giving anyone a reason to watch boxing. JMM vs. Diaz 2 and Mora vs. Mosley? Who wants to watch that crap on PPV, not even hardcore boxing fans want to watch that ****.
MMA hasnt been doing much better on PPV recently and the UFC's numbers have stayed reasonabley stable besides Brock. I'd say Lesnar's massive sucess shows you the key market, former pro wrestling fans who've grown out of it, the same was true in Japan for the Pride boom although there it was more a direct switch since pro wrestler caters more to an older fanbase. So in a way I spose the UFC have created a new market, men in their 20's and 30's who would have stopped buying PPV when they grew out of Pro Wrestling.
I get it on ESPN in the UK but I'd never in a million years pay for it, especially considering the fighters are getting paid a pittance and the Vegas mob are raking it in.
People who enjoy violence American Football, Hockey, Boxing, K1, WWE, Greco-Roman wrestling, Judo, Jujitsu, Karate, angry hoodlums, drunk rednecks, Rugby fans, and wannabes.... there is a very big market for these kinds of things
WWE fans, Fight Fans and a tonne of MMA fans ive met seems to point towards a lot of white collar workers have picked it up which is something that boxing doesn't always do well.
