UFC blog by MIDiA Research

Blog: UFC

Can LiveScore learn valuable lessons from Eleven Sports’ UK failings?

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

24 Aug 2020

Streaming insurgent LiveScore launched its first ever over-the-top (OTT), ad-supported direct-to-consumer (D2C) streaming proposition in the UK back in June, harbouring a similar rights portfolio to that...

TwitchSports: Amazon throws sports into the starting line-up

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

29 Jul 2020

Video

Sports

Games

Amazon-owned Twitch is no newcomer to sports. However, in a deliberate move to double down, Amazon has conceded that it needs to improve the discoverability of live sporting events for its platform users...

DAZN’s belated UK launch: Can it avoid Eleven Sports’ 'mistake’?

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

24 Jul 2020

Video

Sports

Media & Marketing

DAZN, the anointed ‘Netflix of Sport’, has announced plans to resume launching its services globally via a beta service covering boxing bouts In July and August, for users who have registered their...

Move Over Mickey, The NBA is Set to Become Disney World’s Star Attraction

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

27 May 2020

AFL

Australian Rules Football

basketball

COVID-19 forced sports leagues to think outside the box for restarting live sports. The UFC wanted to rent a private island , the NRL to ferry players to and from games, and the WWE performed to empty...

Forget Virtual – UFC and NRL going Remote

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

10 Apr 2020

Associated Press

broadcaster

With fans currently starved of sports entertainment during lockdown, rights holders are jumping out of the gate to be the first to put on live sports to serve any form of quick fix to see a jump in engagement....

Tale of the Tape: UFC or Bundle Driving ESPN+ Adoption?

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

11 Feb 2020

adoption

binge viewing

bundle

Walt Disney’s pureplay sports streaming service ESPN+, which launched back in April 2018, has surpassed 7.6 million paid subscribers, Disney’s chief executive Bog Iger reported during last week’s...

Can BT Lay the Smackdown on Its Rivals?

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

3 Jan 2020

addressable audience

broadcast

This Saturday at 1am GMT BT will debut its live broadcast for WWE Smackdown, having acquired the exclusive rights from long-term UK broadcaster Sky in June 2019 . This signalled the end of Sky’s tenure...

BT Sport’s Key Ingredient for Competing in an Increasingly Saturated Landscape

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

22 Nov 2019

American football

basketball

broadcast audience

The strategic dilemma as to whether rights holders should seek revenue over reach when allocating domestic rights is inevitably impacted by how dependent services are on premium rights for securing subscriber...

Not So Galactico; What Went Wrong for La Liga?

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

7 Aug 2019

addressable audience

broadcast deals

carriage partnerships

Joris Evers, La Liga’s head of communications, confirmed last week that the rights holder has withdrawn its tender for broadcast rights to Spanish soccer’s premier league in the UK and Ireland after...

Tencent Renewal: NBA the Envy of Global Sports Rights Holders?

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

1 Aug 2019

CBA

Chinese Basketball Association

custom interactive services

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent have announced a five-year extension of their existing partnership, with Tencent acting as the NBA’s official digital partner...

Why the UFC Wants to Replicate the Yao Ming effect

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

25 Jun 2019

athlete

audience culture

brand leverage

The NBA is the third highest grossing league globally, generating $7.4 billion in 2017, behind domestic rivals MLB and NFL. Whereas the MLB and NFL have largely struggled to entice a truly global following,...

Fail Fast, Fail Early – Can Eleven’s UK Struggle Aid Future Growth?

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

21 Feb 2019

Allsvenskan

altice

Amazon Fire Stick

Eleven Sports announced last week it had successfully agreed long-term distribution agreements with all four TV operators in Portugal – Altice, NOS, Nowo and Vodafone. Achieving this agreement puts Eleven...

ESPN+ leverages UFC appeal to double subscriber base to 2 million in five months

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

8 Feb 2019

BAMTech

combat sports

direct-to-consumer

Disney announced in its Q1 earnings call on Tuesday that its sports-centric streaming service ESPN+ had surpassed two million subscribers, doubling its subscriber base in less than five months. Launched...

Eleven Sports Loses Serie A Rights As Partnership With IMG Ends

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

1 Feb 2019

Allsvenskan

audience acquisition

Bundesliga

Eleven Sports, the fledgling sports-centric streaming service has lost the UK and Irish rights for Serie A and Eredivisie, following a strategic decision to ‘amicably’ end its partnership with international...

UFC’s Debut on ESPN+ Draws In Record Subs

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

24 Jan 2019

Bellator

DAZN

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debuted on ESPN+ this past weekend, featuring the highly touted championship fight, which saw Henry Cejudo knockout current Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw in...

DAZN Stepping Up Its Domestic Rights Offering – Insurgent come Enforcer?

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

17 Jan 2019

Bundesliga

D-Day

DAZN

Having grown its portfolio for premium international and domestic sporting rights, DAZN is now starting to graduate from a disruptor into an established part of the landscape. Emphasised by its latest...

Knockout Blow For Eleven Sports?

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

13 Dec 2018

additive service

Audience behaviour

BBC

Eleven Sports, the insurgent subscription video on demand (SVOD) service, is considering closing its operations in the UK and Ireland after failing to secure distribution via traditional TV operators....

Is the UFC doing a Fox, and cashing in on content?

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

31 May 2018

acquisition

content provider

digital content

Last week, Disney-owned ESPN acquired the exclusive rights to show the UFC tournament in the US for $1.5 billion over five years. The deal will see the UFC earn $184 million more each year than the previous...

Mayweather, McGregor and the Changing of the Guard In Premium Sports

Blog post by Tim Mulligan

1 Sep 2017

Boxing

mayweather

mcgregor

Saturday August 26th saw the biggest prize fight in combative sports history, with unbeaten world welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match against Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter...