MMA second only to soccer in South Africa
It is well publicised that MMA is the fastest growing sport globally, but nowhere is that more evident than in South Africa with EFC clocking record TV audience figures in 2017.
Mixed martial arts has endured a long, strange trip since it’s modern inception in 1993. It the worst, it was prohibited from PPV, and at one UFC event, the weigh-ins were conducted in a bathroom. The goal was long to reach the mainstream, but now there are indications the sport is here to take over.
Last year the UFC sold for over $4 billion, the largest sale of a sports property in history. The extraordinary growth is not limited to the USA. South Africa’s leading MMA promotion, EFC, is now second only to soccer.
As of February 2018, outside of soccer, there is no other sports property broadcast in South Africa – event, league, series or organization – that attracts more viewers. The latest statistics received show that EFC outranks even the most traditional popular South African sports like rugby and cricket, and when comparing EFC to the biggest international and local sporting properties, it sees them pale in comparison.
It is well-publicised that MMA is the fastest growing sport globally, but nowhere is that more evident than in South Africa with EFC clocking record
TV audience figures in 2017, the highest by far in the organisation’s 8-year
history.
The 21 million plus viewers is just the TV audience in South Africa alone. EFC is also broadcast across Africa on Kwesé Sports, with many millions more fans watching the best MMA action across the continent, plus EFC is broadcast on numerous TV networks globally, spanning over 120 countries,
making EFC one of the most widely distributed African sport and
entertainment properties around.
Comparing unique audience data of EFC to other traditionally popular sports
broadcast on TV in South Africa in 2017, EFC:
•Pulls an audience over 17 times larger than all SuperRugby games;
•Draws a larger TV audience than all Sunfoil Test Matches, domestic;
SA cricket, Momentum One Day Cup and RAM Slam T20 Challenge
combined;
•Gets over 4 times as many viewers as all the Currie Cup rugby games
combined; and
•Attracted over 22 times more viewers than Wimbledon.
Plus, EFC had by far the most TV viewers, even though all of the above
sports had significantly more airtime on local TV.
With exceptional TV partners in Africa being SABC Sport in South Africa and
Kwesé Sports taking EFC into new markets across the continent, there really
is no limit to the growth that EFC can still achieve, said EFC President Cairo
Howarth. 2017 was the best year in EFC's history and we look forward to an even bigger and better 2018!
Much innovation has taken place in the EFC broadcast spectrum: last year
EFC signed a landmark broadcast deal with SABC Sport, added to its
programming with the hit reality TV series The Fighter, signed on additional
prestigious brands as partners, as well as held live events in three new
venues around South Africa, including an inaugural event in Pretoria.
With a star-stacked roster featuring some of the world’s best MMA fighters,
and exciting new additions to the EFC offering, fans and stakeholders are
looking forward to an even bigger and more successful year ahead.
The next live event, EFC 67 Kabesa vs Allen, is presented by Betxchange.com and takes place on Saturday 10 March live from Carnival City, Johannesburg. Full broadcast details available
on efcworldwide.com.