By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Reporter
MACAU — Already experiencing tremendous exponential growth in TV ratings and social media engagements in the first half 2017, ONE Championship expects the numbers to continue to improve for the rest of the year as it continues to further build connection with its audience through various ways it presents its content.
Speaking at the press conference for their latest offering in Macau, China, “ONE: Kings & Conquerors,” yesterday at The Venetian Macao, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong said they are very happy with the way how ONE Championship, Asia’s largest sports media property, is being received by its target audience.
“Our numbers in TV ratings and social media have been accelerating and going as expected and planned. And I think we’re just really at the beginning,” said Mr. Sityodtong when asked how he sees the numbers for TV ratings and social media engagement for them in the first half of the year and moving forward.
“I think by the end of the year we will get a billion video views on social media. Just two and a half years ago we were at 312,000 views and we expect it to keep on growing,” he added.
The ONE chairman went on to say the improved numbers they are expecting are a resultant of the organization’s thrust since the start to create content that audiences can identify to and appreciate.
“We are focused on building superheroes here in Asia, unleashing heroes who can be an inspiration to many and that positive message is resonating well with the Asian audience. So I expect our numbers to continue to improve. Our number of events should go up as well as the quality of fighters. Everything is going to be bigger, better and more for ONE Championship,” Mr. Sityodtong said.
Mr. Sityodtong said key to the growth they are experiencing since opening shop in 2011 is the conscious effort on their part to bring ONE to as many platforms as possible, particularly here in Asia.
“In Asia you really need to be on all platforms and that is something we as an organization did. Obviously our content really resonates with strong audience connection. So you have to have access points to your content 24/7 everywhere. We will be launching our mobile app soon as well as our OOTV (Optimize Online TV) platform. So fans can interact with us 24/7 and 365 [days] whether it’s on free-to-air TV, paid TV, OOTV platform, mobile app or social media you will get your full dose of ONE Championship every day,” said Mr. Sityodtong.
As per numbers released by ONE to members of the media earlier this year, it said that as per data from Nielsen, Facebook and Repucom (a full service brand analysis and research agency), the organization has recorded exponential growth from the year 2014 up to the present.
The data show that ONE has come from 352 million social media impressions to four billion, which is an 11-fold increase. Also, with the rise of digital and online video, ONE has seen its numbers grow from 312,000 views to 314 million.
The organization also said that since 2014, its audience reach has grown from 60 countries to more than 118 countries globally now.
Its annual TV broadcast per country and peak TV ratings share numbers have increased as well. From an average of just 12-18 hours of TV broadcast in 2014, ONE has increased that number to 100-1,800 hours. Peak TV ratings share rose to 11-20% from 1-2% just three years ago.
The company said that a big part of the rise in its viewers and fan pickup is the partnerships it has forged with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, MYTV, HTV and Esporte Interativo, among others.
