Determinants of pay-per-view broadcast viewership in sports: The case of the ultimate fighting championship

Scott Tainsky, Steven Salaga, Carla Almeida Santos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The scholarship on the economics of individual sports is scant relative to that of team sports. This study advances sport management scholarship, particularly sport economics, by using consumer-theory modeling to estimate Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pay-per-view purchases. Our generalized linear models show fan preferences for certain weight classes, star fighters, outcome uncertainty and comain event quality factors as well as scheduling preferences for holiday weekends. The popular notion that The Ultimate Fighter reality series served as the impetus for the UFC's growth is supported in part. The study concludes by showing how the modeling results impact firm revenue generation via fight card characteristics.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)43-58
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Sport Management
Volume27
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2013

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Decision Sciences
  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
  • Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
  • Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

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