UFC 154 pulls estimated 700,000 PPV buys for Georges St. Pierre's return
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UFC 154 pulls estimated 700,000 PPV buys for Georges St. Pierre's return
Shawn91111
11/28/12 5:18:37PM
Early estimates for UFC 154 show the event doing 700,000 PPV buys as Georges St. Pierre returned to the Octagon.
UFC 154 featured the return to the UFC of Georges St. Pierre as he defended his welterweight title against interim champion Carlos Condit. Not only did the fight turn out to be exciting with a tremendous atmosphere, but the early estimates for PPV business are very solid.
Via the Wrestling Observer newsletter (subscription required):
"Preliminary estimates for UFC 154 were 680,000 to 700,000 buys, with huge numbers in Canada, really strong in places like Saskatoon and Edmonton. It's in line or just below the Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans numbers from earlier this year, so probably third for the year overall. It's lower than what GSP has been doing the last few years, but overall business is down from 2010 and Carlos Condit isn't in the league with Dan Hardy and Josh Koscheck when it came to building a grudge and marketing a fight, not that he did badly. Plus, the pub wasn't there. With Hardy, his Countdown shows on Spike were a lot bigger deal. With Koscheck, you had the entire season of TUF building the fight."
LINK
UFC 154 featured the return to the UFC of Georges St. Pierre as he defended his welterweight title against interim champion Carlos Condit. Not only did the fight turn out to be exciting with a tremendous atmosphere, but the early estimates for PPV business are very solid.
Via the Wrestling Observer newsletter (subscription required):
"Preliminary estimates for UFC 154 were 680,000 to 700,000 buys, with huge numbers in Canada, really strong in places like Saskatoon and Edmonton. It's in line or just below the Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans numbers from earlier this year, so probably third for the year overall. It's lower than what GSP has been doing the last few years, but overall business is down from 2010 and Carlos Condit isn't in the league with Dan Hardy and Josh Koscheck when it came to building a grudge and marketing a fight, not that he did badly. Plus, the pub wasn't there. With Hardy, his Countdown shows on Spike were a lot bigger deal. With Koscheck, you had the entire season of TUF building the fight."
LINK
BuffaloDave
11/28/12 5:25:54PM
Those are pretty good numbers, for a somewhat weak main card.
JLS1980
11/28/12 5:49:29PM
The Yankees Suck.
Poor_Franklin
11/28/12 5:54:29PM
Posted by JLS1980
The Yankees Suck.
kind of hard to disagree there.
LateCold
11/28/12 6:41:07PM
I feel like Carlos Condit's draw was hurt from the Diaz fight.Not that he was a huge draw or anything but before the Diaz fight he seemed like the sort of guy that was really active and always kept coming forward trying to finish the fight.The impression after the Diaz fight was that he used a good gameplan and avoided staying with Diaz and took a hit and run sort of approach and focusing more on points and winning the rounds.
Wallass
11/28/12 6:46:51PM
All I have to say is that Dave Meltzer is often times wrong when it comes to numbers. He had stated that Overeem and Lesnar was 900 000 buys and when the results came in and barely half that ordered it he never apologized. The dudes a maniac when it comes to info in regards to MMA or wrestling but sometimes he can be off and more often than not when it comes to buys and numbers, they aren't his strong suit.
SpiderSilva
11/28/12 7:13:37PM
pretty close to Anderson's #s in his last 3 fights.........
Combined
Combined
grappler0000
11/28/12 8:08:25PM
Posted by Wallass
All I have to say is that Dave Meltzer is often times wrong when it comes to numbers. He had stated that Overeem and Lesnar was 900 000 buys and when the results came in and barely half that ordered it he never apologized. The dudes a maniac when it comes to info in regards to MMA or wrestling but sometimes he can be off and more often than not when it comes to buys and numbers, they aren't his strong suit.
Early numbers are only estimates and would account for a discrepancy, but I have a hard time believing he proposed 900k. Source?
BuffaloDave
11/28/12 8:54:09PM
Posted by Wallass
All I have to say is that Dave Meltzer is often times wrong when it comes to numbers. He had stated that Overeem and Lesnar was 900 000 buys and when the results came in and barely half that ordered it he never apologized. The dudes a maniac when it comes to info in regards to MMA or wrestling but sometimes he can be off and more often than not when it comes to buys and numbers, they aren't his strong suit.
Reem/Brock did 750k, so he wasn't to far off. Like Grapler said, it's usually early numbers too.
**EDIT** Just looked up the whole Meltzer thing, he said it did 750K, but it ended up being 535K
LINK
Shawn91111
11/28/12 8:54:45PM
Posted by JLS1980
The Yankees Suck.
Tigers..always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
prozacnation1978
11/28/12 9:53:16PM
Not all gsp though
The whole sell of champion vs champion with condit did help a lot
The whole sell of champion vs champion with condit did help a lot
shaneTpain
11/28/12 11:43:30PM
Fuck PPV anyways.. The price is getting out of hand up here! I can hardly afford to pay my cable bill as it is!! I'm POOR!!!
Manak
11/29/12 2:57:01AM
Posted by shaneTpain
Fuck PPV anyways.. The price is getting out of hand up here! I can hardly afford to pay my cable bill as it is!! I'm POOR!!!
Im right with you; i usually just go to a bar for the fights, so a couple drinks is cheaper than buying HD ppv (non-HD just is not the same). but it is nice to be able to sit at home and watch it.
GSP's next one will be bigger since this was along layoff plus outside the co and main i thought the card was pretty weak. still solid numbers for a guy who hasn't fought in 18 months to still have that big of a fan base.
Wallass
11/29/12 5:44:13AM
Posted by BuffaloDave
Posted by Wallass
All I have to say is that Dave Meltzer is often times wrong when it comes to numbers. He had stated that Overeem and Lesnar was 900 000 buys and when the results came in and barely half that ordered it he never apologized. The dudes a maniac when it comes to info in regards to MMA or wrestling but sometimes he can be off and more often than not when it comes to buys and numbers, they aren't his strong suit.
Reem/Brock did 750k, so he wasn't to far off. Like Grapler said, it's usually early numbers too.
**EDIT** Just looked up the whole Meltzer thing, he said it did 750K, but it ended up being 535K
LINK
I guess I'm no better than Dave if I dont right a retraction. I must have been wrong but I have been a paid member of his site for three years now and thought he had said Reem vs Brock was an estimate of 900 000 buys in January of this year. I must have been off a little and it looks like it was 750 as Buffalo Dave mentioned.
Jackwio
11/29/12 5:45:58AM
i don't see how anyone can spin these numbers as being good.
for starters 680k-700k was lower then gsp's last few fights.
second,due to the long lay off and the excitement of his return it was expected ufc 154 would generate 800k-1m buys.
third its also known that the the arena did'nt sell out, pulling in a smaller live gate then last time gsp faught there.
these numbers further confirm that the UFC is in trouble. even gsp's popularity seems to be fading.
perhaps mma is the fastest dying sport in the world?
for starters 680k-700k was lower then gsp's last few fights.
second,due to the long lay off and the excitement of his return it was expected ufc 154 would generate 800k-1m buys.
third its also known that the the arena did'nt sell out, pulling in a smaller live gate then last time gsp faught there.
these numbers further confirm that the UFC is in trouble. even gsp's popularity seems to be fading.
perhaps mma is the fastest dying sport in the world?
FlashyG
11/29/12 6:04:04AM
The sport isn't dying, the PPV model is dying a slow death though.
The economy sucks and people just aren't willing to spend 50-60$ a month for a few fights.
Even if the UFC isn't making as much money per show as they were a year ago, they are still making a boatload of money.
The economy sucks and people just aren't willing to spend 50-60$ a month for a few fights.
Even if the UFC isn't making as much money per show as they were a year ago, they are still making a boatload of money.
Jackwio
11/29/12 6:35:35AM
the economy was worse in 2009 and 2010 and yet ufc's PPV numbers were amazing those years. there were also more ppv events those years so people were spending for ppv's more often.
ufc is making money, but the evidence is kinda irrefutable. the sport of mma is fading
ufc is making money, but the evidence is kinda irrefutable. the sport of mma is fading
FlashyG
11/29/12 7:18:26AM
Posted by Jackwio
the economy was worse in 2009 and 2010 and yet ufc's PPV numbers were amazing those years. there were also more ppv events those years so people were spending for ppv's more often.
ufc is making money, but the evidence is kinda irrefutable. the sport of mma is fading
The last couple years have also seen a rise in the number and quality of free shows like those on Versus, FX and Fox.
A lot of people are unwilling to shell out 50-60 Dollars for a product they are getting for free half the time.
MMA isn't going anywhere, its not going to be rivaling the NFL or MLB but its not dying either.
Jackwio
11/29/12 7:28:22AM
and you just touched on the other side of equation. the ratings for those free shows are in the dumps too. TUF ratings are at all time lows. UFC on fox ratings have collapsed since it's 1st show.
landstander
11/29/12 7:53:28AM
Posted by LateCold
I feel like Carlos Condit's draw was hurt from the Diaz fight.Not that he was a huge draw or anything but before the Diaz fight he seemed like the sort of guy that was really active and always kept coming forward trying to finish the fight.The impression after the Diaz fight was that he used a good gameplan and avoided staying with Diaz and took a hit and run sort of approach and focusing more on points and winning the rounds.
The whole fight was promoted on both guys being finishers and that they are the kind of guys that bring it and will put it all on the line. By the end of the promotion I was expecting the the guys to be brought into the cage on chains like pitbulls, but then Condit comes out and tries to win on points for 5 rounds.
Bubbles
11/29/12 8:47:13AM
Posted by Shawn91111
Posted by JLS1980
The Yankees Suck.
Tigers..always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
aside one fluke season, a $200 mil payroll hasn't gotten the Yankees a title in 12 years
Bubbles
11/29/12 8:48:52AM
Posted by shaneTpain
Fuck PPV anyways.. The price is getting out of hand up here! I can hardly afford to pay my cable bill as it is!! I'm POOR!!!
if you are a Rogers customer, be prepared for a price increase. They need to fund the recent Jays acquisitions
Bubbles
11/29/12 8:51:54AM
Posted by Jackwio
and you just touched on the other side of equation. the ratings for those free shows are in the dumps too. TUF ratings are at all time lows. UFC on fox ratings have collapsed since it's 1st show.
TUF is also nearing the same # of seasons as Survivor and its getting tired and redundant. Are Survivors current numbers the same as during the first couple seasons?
Jackwio
11/29/12 10:13:29AM
i don't know about survivors ratings, nor do i care. on top of that the point you are trying to make isn't a good point. given that the drop in TUF's ratings coincides with all the other drops(ppv buys, ufc on fox ratings, prelim ratings, fuel ratings, and hell even the sales of the ufc video games) over the course of the last 2 years.
due to all these signs of failure it is more logical to question if mma is in trouble rather then question if the ratings drop is just due to TUF getting tired and redundant.
due to all these signs of failure it is more logical to question if mma is in trouble rather then question if the ratings drop is just due to TUF getting tired and redundant.
cowcatcher
11/29/12 10:31:57AM
Posted by Bubbles
Posted by Jackwio
and you just touched on the other side of equation. the ratings for those free shows are in the dumps too. TUF ratings are at all time lows. UFC on fox ratings have collapsed since it's 1st show.
TUF is also nearing the same # of seasons as Survivor and its getting tired and redundant. Are Survivors current numbers the same as during the first couple seasons?
That's actually a good point, the mystique disappears from shows that were fresh ideas with revolving casts after awhile. Sitcoms can last because you're building characters and then people know them and what to expect, reality shows don't have that luxury.
bjj1605
11/29/12 11:53:48AM
Posted by FlashyG
The sport isn't dying, the PPV model is dying a slow death though.
The economy sucks and people just aren't willing to spend 50-60$ a month for a few fights.
Even if the UFC isn't making as much money per show as they were a year ago, they are still making a boatload of money.
How do these numbers compare to Fox views, out of curiosity?
I rarely pay attention to the numbers. But are free cards doing well?
BuffaloDave
11/29/12 1:51:02PM
Posted by Jackwio
i don't see how anyone can spin these numbers as being good.
for starters 680k-700k was lower then gsp's last few fights.
second,due to the long lay off and the excitement of his return it was expected ufc 154 would generate 800k-1m buys.
third its also known that the the arena did'nt sell out, pulling in a smaller live gate then last time gsp faught there.
these numbers further confirm that the UFC is in trouble. even gsp's popularity seems to be fading.
perhaps mma is the fastest dying sport in the world?
LOL, at the MMA is dying, and the UFC is in trouble. Just last week, it was said they're already talking an extension with Fox, after 1yr into their deal. There is some room for improvement, but it's definitely not dying.
That number for GSP is pretty good, considering that the main card was pretty weak, compared to most other GSP featured cards. Just take a look at the talent on the previous ones, some had another title fight on it, or look at the Shields card, had Randy's last fight.
FlashyG
11/29/12 3:26:49PM
Posted by bjj1605
Posted by FlashyG
The sport isn't dying, the PPV model is dying a slow death though.
The economy sucks and people just aren't willing to spend 50-60$ a month for a few fights.
Even if the UFC isn't making as much money per show as they were a year ago, they are still making a boatload of money.
How do these numbers compare to Fox views, out of curiosity?
I rarely pay attention to the numbers. But are free cards doing well?
The first one did very well at an average of 5.7 million viewers, the second dipped to 4.7 million, the 3rd and 4th dropped significantly to 2.4 million, but were up against the NBA playoffs and a Floyd Mayweather fight for #3, and the Summer Olympics for #4
So on average live Fox events at their worst are attracting around 4 times the audience of their PPV cards.
Bubbles
11/29/12 3:31:53PM
Posted by FlashyG
The first one did very well at an average of 5.7 million viewers, the second dipped to 4.7 million, the 3rd and 4th dropped significantly to 2.4 million, but were up against the NBA playoffs and a Floyd Mayweather fight for #3, and the Summer Olympics for #4
So on average live Fox events at their worst are attracting around 4 times the audience of their PPV cards.
that is a bit misleading. You are comparing buys to viewers. 700,000 PPV buys doesn't mean 700,000 viewers
cowcatcher
11/29/12 3:33:13PM
Posted by Bubbles
Posted by FlashyG
The first one did very well at an average of 5.7 million viewers, the second dipped to 4.7 million, the 3rd and 4th dropped significantly to 2.4 million, but were up against the NBA playoffs and a Floyd Mayweather fight for #3, and the Summer Olympics for #4
So on average live Fox events at their worst are attracting around 4 times the audience of their PPV cards.
that is a bit misleading. You are comparing buys to viewers. 700,000 PPV buys doesn't mean 700,000 viewers
Whatever could you possibly mean?
