UFC sees 2016 as its best year for pay-per-view, but there were some duds too

UFC is one organization that depends heavily on pay-per-view for its business and 2016 was a very good year. Overall, UFC’s success led to five of its pay-per-view shows having more than 1 million buys which is a first. The two Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz fights paved the way for the increased buys with the sequel generating a record 1.6 million purchases.

MMA Fighting says UFC’s 13 PPV fight cards in 2016 totaled about 8.370 million buys averaging 644,000 per show. That’s an increase from 2015’s 550,000 per show average.

In addition, UFC’s Madison Square Garden debut in 2016 (UFC 205) did very well at the gate generating $17.7 million and just over one million buys, but there was hope that it would break two million.

But while UFC can hang its hat on the increased numbers, it also had some bombs. Five of its 13 shows did not break 250,000 buys. Three others, UFC 197, UFC 199 and UFC 203 generated 322,000, 320,000 and 450,000 buys respectively.

Much of the higher buys had to do with the drawing power of McGregor, Ronda Rousey and to a lesser extent, Brock Lesnar. But with Lesnar on a drug suspension for most of the year and Rousey on the verge of MMA retirement, UFC needs new stars to replace them.

The viewership for UFC Fight Night events on Fox were up in 2016 compared to the year before. They averaged 3.005 million viewers last year, up 6% from 2015. But there were six events Fox in 2016 as compared to four in 2015.

FS1 Fight Nights averaged 993,000 viewers last year in essence flat with 2015’s 990,000 viewers.

So UFC can boast that 2016 was a very good year, but inside the numbers, there were a few duds and with 2017’s shows in the planning stages, the organization knows that the draws will need some big names and star power to generate buzz for the pay-per-view cards.

[MMA Fighting]