An enormous a part of UFC’s newest enterprise technique surrounds the location fess and incentives {that a} metropolis, state, or nation pays to land a big-time occasion from the promotion.
Look no additional than the upcoming UFC card in Saudi Arabia on June 22 as the right instance. The Center Japanese nation reportedly paid round $20 million to convey UFC there for the primary time. Weeks earlier than the occasion takes place, Turki Alalshikh, the chairmen of Saudi Arabia’s Basic Leisure Authority, introduced that he struck a brand new take care of UFC to convey one other occasion to his nation in 2025, and that Riyadh Season — the annual music, arts, and sports activities competition — will sponsor the upcoming UFC 306 card in September at Sphere in Las Vegas.
Whereas no monetary figures had been revealed, TKO Group Holdings President Mark Shapiro supplied some perception into the profitable enterprise of UFC web site charges and the way that’s grow to be a central focus for the promotion shifting ahead.
“Huge alternative and a giant a part of our technique,” Shapiro stated through the JP Morgan Expertise, Media and Communications convention. “I spoke up entrance [about] our main KPIs (key efficiency indicator) that we’re working, which is attendance and pricing and web site charges.
“Look, if we’re going to convey the present to city, we’re in search of an incentive package deal. It doesn’t at all times must be straight money, nevertheless it must be a big incentive package deal. As a result of as soon as once more, demand is outstripping provide.”
Web site charges basically boil all the way down to the cash and incentives it takes from a metropolis, state, or nation to land a serious UFC card.
Upfront money can definitely play an element, comparable to Saudi Arabia placing down $20 million simply to get UFC to come back there for a single occasion. In different places, that might imply a metropolis or state absorbs the price of advertising and marketing and promoting, or maybe affords tax incentives to land a UFC struggle card.
With regards to this newest take care of Saudi Arabia, Shapiro didn’t reveal precisely how a lot UFC was paid, however based mostly on the unique web site price, the funding might probably find yourself close to $40 million for a single occasion.
“You’ve seen us monetize web site charges with the likes of Saudi Arabia with WWE,” Shapiro defined. “You possibly can search for us to broaden our present deal within the subsequent six to 12 months. Very proud of MBS (Mohammad bin Salman) and the partnership we have now there. Now we have two occasions a yr, however we’re already in discussions — Nick Khan is main that for us — in increasing that to extra occasions. We even have an exceptional deal in Abu Dhabi with the UFC the place we’re getting vital web site charges and incentive packages there, and we’ve now expanded our partnership with them for different affiliate occasions, if you’ll, within the Center East that they’d take part in as we promote them to totally different nations.
“We’ve now expanded our Saudi Arabia relationship by not simply having a UFC struggle this June, however asserting — for nearly double the rights price — one other occasion subsequent yr. I might inform you we’d be doing a long term take care of Saudi Arabia if we already had one occasion underneath our belt. In order that’s one other means of claiming so long as all the pieces goes properly in June, which we anticipate, I believe Dana White could be very amenable to doing a for much longer time period deal in Saudi Arabia.”
Shapiro stated the demand for UFC is increased than ever, so in search of web site charges from places hoping to land a struggle card simply is smart for the enterprise.
Cities and nations from around the globe are already forking over some huge cash to get a UFC pay-per-view to come back to city, with the promotion touring to places like Newark, N.J., in June, Manchester, England, in July, and Perth, Australia, in August.
Finally, Shapiro anticipates that even UFC Battle Night time playing cards will command a hefty price, and he didn’t must look any additional than the current occasion in St. Louis to show the demand is there.
“We’re getting web site charges for our pay-per-views within the UFC — vital by the way in which right here within the U.S. and internationally, however particularly right here within the U.S. — and we’re going to beginning to ask for those self same incentive packages to convey [WWE] Uncooked to city, to convey [WWE] Smackdown to city, to convey our Battle Nights to city,” Shapiro stated. “So we simply had a UFC Battle Night time every week in the past in St. Louis, we did the very best gross for a Battle Night time within the historical past of the UFC in St. Louis. Highest ever.
“We’re simply speaking an everyday card. I used to be really there. Budweiser’s our companion, that’s their dwelling, super occasion, and that’s what occurs once you haven’t had the UFC there since pre-pandemic. The demand and thirst is so insatiable that the viewers is able to come out and spend document sums on tickets.”
As a part of the initiative to hunt out web site charges and incentive packages, TKO introduced Thursday that the dwell occasions group in UFC and WWE are merging collectively underneath the management of Peter Dropick, a longtime govt with UFC who now holds the title of govt vice chairman for occasion growth and operations at TKO.
The directive for the brand new mixed dwell occasions group is in search of to “drive income progress methods throughout key areas, together with dwell occasion growth and scheduling, tourism incentive packages, ticketing, and fan experiences” for UFC and WWE.
“Demand for dwell sports activities and leisure has by no means been stronger, and we consider our portfolio of occasions will proceed to drive the expansion of our enterprise,” TKO CFO Andrew Schleimer stated in a press launch. “The newly built-in TKO Reside Occasions Technique Crew will concentrate on creating operational efficiencies and growing methods to leverage the broader financial advantages we convey to host cities, together with partnering with native governments and maximizing income alternatives from web site charges.”
On June 29, Conor McGregor returns for UFC 303 at T-Cell Enviornment in Las Vegas. UFC CEO Dana White revealed just lately that the gate for the occasion has already crossed $20 million, which is a document for the promotion.
Shapiro anticipates continued success for UFC ticket gross sales sooner or later, with occasions driving large cash in the direction of tourism and native companies. With UFC now anticipated to hunt web site charges for Battle Night time playing cards, that might decide what number of occasions find yourself taking place outdoors of the UFC APEX, the place the promotion controls prices and handles manufacturing in-house.
That’s why the message is obvious to any metropolis, state, or nation on the market: In order for you UFC to come back to city, you higher get able to pay for it.
“We wish to see incentive packages to ensure that us to convey these fights to city,” Shapiro stated. “I believe there’s super upside. We’ve bought a group engaged on this across the clock and we have now excessive hopes and admittedly sturdy calls for from administration to see that we execute on this technique.”
