UFC pay-per-view buys and the value of the celebrity fighter
In 2016, the Ultimate Fighting Championship was sold for a reported price of $4 billion, the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise. This was a remarkable turn-around for a promotion that 15 years earlier was saved from bankruptcy by a $2 million buyout. This turnaround was driven by the UFC...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
LLC "CPC "Business Perspectives"
2017-12-01
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| Series: | Innovative Marketing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://businessperspectives.org/images/pdf/applications/publishing/templates/article/assets/9795/IM_2017_04_Robbins.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818408279112417280 |
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| author | Thomas R. Robbins James E. Zemanek, Jr. |
| author_facet | Thomas R. Robbins James E. Zemanek, Jr. |
| author_sort | Thomas R. Robbins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2016, the Ultimate Fighting Championship was sold for a reported price of $4 billion, the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise. This was a remarkable turn-around for a promotion that 15 years earlier was saved from bankruptcy by a $2 million buyout. This turnaround was driven by the UFC’s ability to mainstream the promotion and the sport while establishing reliable revenue streams through television contracts and massive pay-per-view events. In this paper, the authors review the pay-per-view record of the UFC and analyze the extent to which it is driven by high profile celebrity fighters with broad crossover appeal. Using statistical analysis, the authors identify the top crossover celebrities and assess the economic value they generate for the UFC. They compare this to the impact generated from the promotion’s highest ranked pound-for-pound fighter and find that celebrity has far more economic value than fighting skill. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T09:41:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0d785f69bc164c8bb078002aebf1686f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1814-2427 1816-6326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T09:41:12Z |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | LLC "CPC "Business Perspectives" |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Innovative Marketing |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d785f69bc164c8bb078002aebf1686f2022-12-21T23:07:47ZengLLC "CPC "Business Perspectives"Innovative Marketing1814-24271816-63262017-12-01134354610.21511/im.13(4).2017.049795UFC pay-per-view buys and the value of the celebrity fighterThomas R. Robbins0James E. Zemanek, Jr.1Associate Professor, Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, College of Business, East Carolina University, GreenvilleProfessor, Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, College of Business, East Carolina University, GreenvilleIn 2016, the Ultimate Fighting Championship was sold for a reported price of $4 billion, the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise. This was a remarkable turn-around for a promotion that 15 years earlier was saved from bankruptcy by a $2 million buyout. This turnaround was driven by the UFC’s ability to mainstream the promotion and the sport while establishing reliable revenue streams through television contracts and massive pay-per-view events. In this paper, the authors review the pay-per-view record of the UFC and analyze the extent to which it is driven by high profile celebrity fighters with broad crossover appeal. Using statistical analysis, the authors identify the top crossover celebrities and assess the economic value they generate for the UFC. They compare this to the impact generated from the promotion’s highest ranked pound-for-pound fighter and find that celebrity has far more economic value than fighting skill.https://businessperspectives.org/images/pdf/applications/publishing/templates/article/assets/9795/IM_2017_04_Robbins.pdfcrossover celebritiespay-per-view buyspound-for-pound fightersports franchise |
| spellingShingle | Thomas R. Robbins James E. Zemanek, Jr. UFC pay-per-view buys and the value of the celebrity fighter Innovative Marketing crossover celebrities pay-per-view buys pound-for-pound fighter sports franchise |
| title | UFC pay-per-view buys and the value of the celebrity fighter |
| title_full | UFC pay-per-view buys and the value of the celebrity fighter |
| title_fullStr | UFC pay-per-view buys and the value of the celebrity fighter |
| title_full_unstemmed | UFC pay-per-view buys and the value of the celebrity fighter |
| title_short | UFC pay-per-view buys and the value of the celebrity fighter |
| title_sort | ufc pay per view buys and the value of the celebrity fighter |
| topic | crossover celebrities pay-per-view buys pound-for-pound fighter sports franchise |
| url | https://businessperspectives.org/images/pdf/applications/publishing/templates/article/assets/9795/IM_2017_04_Robbins.pdf |
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