The UFC has its base in the United States but its viewership seems to be skewed elsewhere
Ari Emanuel, the CEO of the Endeavor group, has shared some fascinating insights into the commercials of the UFC.
The UFC was sold to a group led by WME-IMG (now Endeavor) for a whopping $4.025billion, the largest in the sports industry.
This went on to prove just how valuable a commodity the UFC is. MMA as a whole is growing in the world but the UFC seems to be the biggest promotion.
The UFC is based in the United States with most of its cards and PPVs (pay-per-views) being held in the States.
However, Emanuel shared an interesting stat regarding the viewership of the cards. The Endeavor CEO claimed that 90% of the viewership of the UFC comes from outside of the United States.
While the 90% figures might be alarming, there could be several factors in play. The UFC is a global brand with many of its champions not from North America.
Charles Oliveira, Valentina Shevchenko, Glover Teixeira and Francis Ngannou are just some of the non-American champions.
Fans from those countries would certainly login to see their champions in action, but there is also the PPV cost.
American UFC fans have to pay a huge amount for each PPV, which isn’t the same everywhere else. Most countries just have to pay a certain amount for a sports channel that broadcasts not only the UFC but other sports as well.
That certainly helps in gaining viewership since it doesn’t hurt the pocket. The UFC is one of the biggest brands in the world, but US fans certainly have to pay a huge chunk to watch PPVs.
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