Title: Demand for pay-per-view consumption of Ultimate Fighting Championship events

Authors: Nicholas M. Watanabe

Addresses: Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, University of Missouri, 105 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building, Columbia, MO 65211, USA

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to consider the economic factors driving the demand for pay-per-view (PPV) purchases for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events by consumers in the USA. Traditionally, sport consumers within the USA have sought out bigger and more famous sport leagues, but there is a growing trend of consumption of MMA and combat sports. Within this growth, the UFC has positioned themselves as the dominant force in the North American MMA market. The focus of this research seeks to examine consumption of MMA through a new lens by employing an economic demand model to estimate the demand for pay-per-view for UFC events in the USA. The results of this model indicate the significance of certain factors which are related to viewership, and thus have important management and scheduling implications for the UFC.

Keywords: mixed martial arts; MMA; Ultimate Fighting Championship; UFC; demand for sport; pay-per-view; PPV; combat sports; television; viewership; economics; economic demand; USA; United States.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2012.047128

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2012 Vol.11 No.3/4, pp.225 - 238

Received: 31 Dec 2010
Accepted: 05 Oct 2011
Published online: 31 Jul 2014 *

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