First UFC on FOX video; future is ‘explosive’
FOX Sports Media Group chairman David Hill spoke at today’s press conference about the thinking that went into a deal…
FOX Sports Media Group chairman David Hill spoke at today’s press conference about the thinking that went into a deal reportedly worth $90,000,000 per year.
“You look at where Frank and Lorenzo and Dana have taken this sport, and it’s literally that small of a group. That’s the braintrust that have made it work for the past decade. Imagine what’s going to happen in the next decade. I really think the growth potential of this is explosive.”
“What’s going to happen over the next two or three years, I don’t think any of us can predict. We’ve all got these incredible aspirations for where this is going to go, but we can’t articulate it at this stage. But we will see it, and there will be a lot of discussion, and we will move forward.”
While UFC detractors have long questioned the viability of the sport in the eyes of major corporate sponsors, Hill said his data shows otherwise.
“We would not have gone into this deal if we hadn’t canvassed a large group of advertisers who are 100 percent behind it. There might be one or two companies that have got a ‘do not buy.’ There is a hell of a lot more that have a ‘do buy’ on this sport.
“The importance of this deal is what it brings in the male demo, (18-to-34). If you talk to any commissioner of any sport, the key thing that they’re concerned about are probably – with the exception of the National Football League right now, probably – looking at that young demo, it’s always wavering. They’re like fish. They’re there, and then they’re gone. Without that 18-to-34 demo, you are really a hostage, unfortunately, for the future for the sport because it’s that demo that grows the sport. They’re going to grow with it. They’re going to take their kids, teach them what the sport’s about.
“When you look at the figures that UFC is pulling, it’s huge. In terms of what this is and what this is going to do and what we’re going to do jointly between ourselves and the UFC, that’s what the exciting future is.”
It’s a future that White insists will someday make his company the chief promotion of the most popular sport in the world.