ONE Championship Hailed Among Top Global Sports Properties By Nielsen

KEY POINTS

ONE Championship remains among the top global sports properties in light of the pandemic
The Asian martial arts promotion is making the most out of available social media tools
ONE Championship is just behind the UFC in terms of video views across social media platforms

ONE Championship continues to hold its head above water, despite the pandemic still around.

But even before COVID-19 hit, the Singapore-based promotion was no stranger to adversity. Now, those efforts have been paying off.

ONE Championship finds itself among the Top 10 global sports properties, according to the latest report from Nielsen.

Titled “How the World’s Biggest Sports Properties Engaged Fans in 2020,” the report considered the data gathered–particularly in 2020 when the pandemic started. A full report can be downloaded here.

The report comes not long after the promotion will celebrate its 10th anniversary. The growth of the company has been evident in the past years, registering the fastest rate of growth of any major global sports property.

Its social media complement coming from Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube showed a sharp rise to 113%, 28% better to the next closest sports property.

The UFC remains the largest mixed martial arts promotion in North America with a growth rate of 62%. Meanwhile, ONE Championship is seventh overall.

But its adoption of digital marketing has paid handsomely, something that others like Formula 1 and LaLiga have adopted. Other entities were not as fortunate and settled for slower growth.

“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to our superstar team at ONE Championship for everything. The world is still suffering from the worst global crisis in a hundred years. And you have shown the world that impossible is nothing. Thank you to the greatest team in the world for your heart and hustle,” company chairman Chatri Sityodtong stated.

ONE Championship ranks No. 3 in cumulative reach, just behind the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. UFC, for comparison, sits at No. 6.

Cumulative Reach data from Nielsen Nielsen report

As far as video views, ONE Championship ranks fourth overall with over 6.1 billion via Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The UFC is in the third spot, while the NFL is in second.

ONE Championship is fifth in Facebook engagement, just behind the NBA (4th) but ahead of the UFC (6th). The Premier League, UEFA and La Liga are the top three per the Nielsen report.

As far as broadcast hours, ONE Championship ranks 10th overall.