IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The UFC is finally revealing how much they lost when they hosted an event at the White House.
In June, the UFC held UFC Freedom 250 on the White House lawn, which reportedly cost the company nearly $60 million to produce.
During TKO’s earnings call on Monday, the company revealed that they took a $30 million loss on the event after bringing in sponsors to help cover some of the costs.
“With regards to UFC Freedom 250, we incurred significantly higher than normal costs, which we partially offset with sold-out global partnerships inventory,” TKO chief financial officer Andrew Schleimer said during a call with investors. “As a reminder, we did not sell tickets and therefore did not record any live events revenue.
“Given the event’s profile, which as anticipated, resulted in an approximate $30 million loss, our margins at UFC as well as on a consolidated basis were meaningfully impacted.”
Despite taking a loss on the event, TKO execs are happy due to the media exposure they received
“This event was a roaring success for our company, the UFC brand and the sport of mixed martial arts,” TKO CEO Ari Emanuel said.
“Beyond the audience numbers, the event generated more than $1 billion in earned media value — the kind of exposure only a handful of events in the world can command,” added TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro. “It also deepened our commercial relationships, adding 25 new marketing partners to our roster, many signing multiyear or multi-event deals.”