The pay-per-view picture for the UFC in 2007 has came into focus in recent months with the release of official pay-per-view numbers from Randy Couture's two fights in 2007, the latest S&P report from November and a comprehensive report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. When all the buys are counted it appears as though the company will finish the year around 4.9 million buys, down roughly 5% from last year's estimated 5.2 million buys.
UFC PAY-PER-VIEW BREAKDOWN - 2007 / 2006
- UFC 67 - Silva v. Lutter - 400,000
- UFC 57 - Liddell v. Couture III - 400,000
- UFC 68 - Slyvia v. Couture - 540,000
- UFC 58 - Franklin v. Loiseau - 300,000
- UFC 69 - St. Pierre v. Serra - 400,000
- UFC 59 - Ortiz v. Griffin - 425,000
- UFC 71 - Liddell v. Jackson II - 675,000
- UFC 60 - Hughes v. Gracie - 620,000
- UFC 72 - Franklin v. Okami - 200,000
- No June pay-per-view event in 2006
- UFC 73 - Ortiz v. Evans - 425,000
- UFC 61 - Ortiz v. Shamrock II - 775,000
- UFC 74 - Couture v. Gonzaga - 520,000
- UFC 62 - Liddell v. Sobral II - 500,000
- UFC 76 - Liddell v. Jardine - 475,000
- UFC 63 - Hughes v. Penn - 400,000
- UFC 77 - Franklin v. Silva II - 325,000
- UFC 64 - Franklin v. Silva - 300,000
- UFC 78 - Evans v. Bisbing - 325,000^
- UFC 65 - Hughes v. St. Pierre - 500,000
- UFC 79 - Liddell v. Silva - 600,000*
- UFC 66 - Liddell v. Ortiz - 1,050,000
^ = reportedly did 325,000 buys at a minimum
* = MMAPayout.com's projected minimum
* = MMAPayout.com's projected minimum
YEAR TO YEAR COMPARISON [2007 / 2006 (% Change)]
- Q1 - 940,000 / 700,000 (+34%)
- Q2 - 1,275,000 / 1,450,000 (-12%)*
- Q3 - 1,420,000 / 1,675,000 (-15%)
- Q4 - 1,250,000 / 1,800,000 (-31%)
- TOTAL - 4,885,000 / 5,200,000 (-5%)
* - three events in '07 compared to two events in '06
NOTE: In October of 2007, with the pay-per-view picture beginning to take shape, MMAPayout.com forecast that the UFC would do roughly 5.1 million buys. While what we thought we knew has changed greatly in that time span, the forecast still ended up being only 3% off.
CROSS INDUSTRY COMPARISONS [Buys (Estimated Gross Revenue)(# of events)]
- UFC - 4,885,000 ($194.5 million)(11)
- HBO Boxing - 4,795,000 ($239.75 million)(8)
- WWE - 2,797,000* (13 events included, 2 outstanding)
* price points vary on WWE pay-per-view events
Complete analysis and commentary on these numbers and the state of the MMA industry generally as 2008 begins coming to MMAPayout.com in the coming days and weeks. For now you can read Dave Meltzer's analysis of the Business of MMA in 2008 at Yahoo! Sports.
Complete analysis and commentary on these numbers and the state of the MMA industry generally as 2008 begins coming to MMAPayout.com in the coming days and weeks. For now you can read Dave Meltzer's analysis of the Business of MMA in 2008 at Yahoo! Sports.
