Dave Meltzer: DAZN is in trouble

[careto]

Bellator 237 Fedor Emelianenko vs Rampage Jackson, Bellator 227 Benson Henderson vs Myles Jury , Bellator. 232 Frank Mir vs Roy Nelson, scheduled but scratched, Bellator Salute To The Troops Hawaii Josh Barnett vs Ronny Markes just to name 3 that happened and a fourth that was scheduled. And on and on it goes. Coker loves those past their prime fighters and those ex-UFC fighters.

Although some of those are ex-UFC fighters they are not shot-fighters (with the exeption of Mir and Nelson, that was attrocious). But to be honest, if Jack Hermanson, Corey Anderson, and Overeem, still headline UFC events, I dont see why Benson or Fedor cant headline Bellator events.
Its not all bad in Bellator, I do think they have made some moves in the right direction, particularly signing young prospects and doing tournaments. However, they have also made terrible decisions and moved in the wrong direction, particularly with their match-making and their promoting of young talents.

 

[GueseGuy]

Bunch of clueless ppl in this thread. Bellator is fine with or without DAZN. They are 1000x more stable than Strikeforce ever was. Bellator has created international business for Viacom’s international markets. Espinoza has big plans for them. They’re not going anywhere.

 

[Baba Ghanoush]

shockedpikachuface.jpg

 

[careto]

Bunch of clueless ppl in this thread. Bellator is fine with or without DAZN. They are 1000x more stable than Strikeforce ever was. Bellator has created international business for Viacom’s international markets. Espinoza has big plans for them. They’re not going anywhere.

I dont think Bellator is in trouble but it s interesting to think what is Bellator going to do after the DAZN deal expires. Whether they will continue expanding or how they manage without those $33 million a year.

 

[GueseGuy]

I dont think Bellator is in trouble but it s interesting to think what is Bellator going to do after the DAZN deal expires. Whether they will continue expanding or how they manage without those $33 million a year.

They have plenty of sponsors and tv broadcast deals around the world. They don’t need the DAZN money. Obviously it’s a boost but Bellator is an international brand now, they are no longer solely relying on one source of income to maintain themselves. They’ll be fine

 

[RODNEY83]

Although some of those are ex-UFC fighters they are not shot-fighters (with the exeption of Mir and Nelson, that was attrocious). But to be honest, if Jack Hermanson, Corey Anderson, and Overeem, still headline UFC events, I dont see why Benson or Fedor cant headline Bellator events.
Its not all bad in Bellator, I do think they have made some moves in the right direction, particularly signing young prospects and doing tournaments. However, they have also made terrible decisions and moved in the wrong direction, particularly with their match-making and their promoting of young talents.

MVP and Paul Daley and Michael Chandler and Douglas Lima and Ryan Nader and Vitaly Minakov and Ilima MacFarlane and Cris Cyborg and the likes should be headlining Bellator cards and Bellator shouldn't even look back. Move this thing forward. Matt Mitrione, Roy Nelson, Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo and the likes should all be fighting lower on the cards. And interview the winners backstage during the lulls between the later fights. If Coker can ever get over his whatever against Bobby Lashley, then Bobby Lashley should always co-Main Event or Main Event any Bellator card that he would ever be on. Although every sign points to Bobby Lashley and Coker's Bellator are done with each other.

 

[careto]

MVP and Paul Daley and Michael Chandler and Douglas Lima and Ryan Nader and Vitaly Minakov and Ilima MacFarlane and Cris Cyborg and the likes should be headlining Bellator cards and Bellator shouldn't even look back. Move this thing forward. Matt Mitrione, Roy Nelson, Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo and the likes should all be fighting lower on the cards. And interview the winners backstage during the lulls between the later fights. If Coker can ever get over his whatever against Bobby Lashley, then Bobby Lashley should always co-Main Event or Main Event any Bellator card that he would ever be on. Although every sign points to Bobby Lashley and Coker's Bellator are done with each other.

This is something Bellator should have been doing since a long time and recently they have taken steps in the right direction. They really should promote homegrown talent and give those guys the push they deserve in the MMA world.
Tournaments, stacked cards, and homegrown talent should be their business model.

 

[CC27]

Featherweight is logjammed, and likely going to give Max a pointless rematch, so contenders are stuck in limbo. Middleweight? Yoel just got a fight coming off a loss. No clear cut contender there, either.

MW doesnt have a clear cut contender? I guess Paulo Costa doesnt exist.

 

[CC27]

https://heavy.com/sports/2020/05/dazn-bellator-contract-ends-bkfc-deal/

Everyone saw this coming, DAZN is dumping Bellator. They are talking about Bare Knuckle or other combat sports, probably ones that are alot cheaper.

 

[lukeuidswords]

Bunch of clueless ppl in this thread. Bellator is fine with or without DAZN. They are 1000x more stable than Strikeforce ever was. Bellator has created international business for Viacom’s international markets. Espinoza has big plans for them. They’re not going anywhere.

Showtime/CBS is their future home by the looks of it

 

[CC27]

They have plenty of sponsors and tv broadcast deals around the world. They don’t need the DAZN money. Obviously it’s a boost but Bellator is an international brand now, they are no longer solely relying on one source of income to maintain themselves. They’ll be fine

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2020/2/6/20893601/an-in-depth-look-at-bellators-finances

Now our linear business is basically flat in the quarter like it was last quarter. We guided to plus 1. We delivered plus 3. And the reason we overdelivered is that our incremental businesses in the broader distribution ecosystem are developing faster than we anticipated... It shows up in the course of our significant new Bellator partnership with DAZN, which by the way makes Bellator profitable and really puts that on a track to becoming a very significant Number 2 in the space. As you know, the distance between UFC and Bellator on economic value basis is very dramatic. The reality is we’ve got the Number 2, we’ve got growing momentum, and now with DAZN here, we have more distribution, we have more revenues. And then we’re using that to increase consumer appeal, including strengthening the lineup. So that’s an exciting opportunity.


They made estimated 80 mill in 2019 and 35 mill came from DAZN. But they dont need the DAZN money.

 

[GueseGuy]

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2020/2/6/20893601/an-in-depth-look-at-bellators-finances

Now our linear business is basically flat in the quarter like it was last quarter. We guided to plus 1. We delivered plus 3. And the reason we overdelivered is that our incremental businesses in the broader distribution ecosystem are developing faster than we anticipated... It shows up in the course of our significant new Bellator partnership with DAZN, which by the way makes Bellator profitable and really puts that on a track to becoming a very significant Number 2 in the space. As you know, the distance between UFC and Bellator on economic value basis is very dramatic. The reality is we’ve got the Number 2, we’ve got growing momentum, and now with DAZN here, we have more distribution, we have more revenues. And then we’re using that to increase consumer appeal, including strengthening the lineup. So that’s an exciting opportunity.


They made estimated 80 mill in 2019 and 35 mill came from DAZN. But they dont need the DAZN money.

They don’t need the DAZN money. They’ll be profitable with or without them. They’ll be done with DAZN and move on to showtime and they’ll be fine. Bellator has been around longer than Pride or SF ever has. Ppl forget it’s been 12 years already. They’re going to be fine.

 

[careto]

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2020/2/6/20893601/an-in-depth-look-at-bellators-finances

Now our linear business is basically flat in the quarter like it was last quarter. We guided to plus 1. We delivered plus 3. And the reason we overdelivered is that our incremental businesses in the broader distribution ecosystem are developing faster than we anticipated... It shows up in the course of our significant new Bellator partnership with DAZN, which by the way makes Bellator profitable and really puts that on a track to becoming a very significant Number 2 in the space. As you know, the distance between UFC and Bellator on economic value basis is very dramatic. The reality is we’ve got the Number 2, we’ve got growing momentum, and now with DAZN here, we have more distribution, we have more revenues. And then we’re using that to increase consumer appeal, including strengthening the lineup. So that’s an exciting opportunity.


They made estimated 80 mill in 2019 and 35 mill came from DAZN. But they dont need the DAZN money.

Half of their revenue comes from the DAZN deal, they wold still be profitable without it but I dont think they would be profitable enough to keep signing free-agents and keeping their best fighters, unless CBS/Viacom replaces that stream of money with their own money.

 

[kimocomplex]

DAZN will not renew Bellator

Coker going to fold Bellator into UFC like he did Strikeforce

 

[RODNEY83]

OMG! The delusional Bellator fans on here are hilarious. Apparently, all of you have just dismissed in your brains that Bellator first year of showing any profit under Scott Coker didn't happen until the end of 2019 fiscal year. Coker has been in charge of Bellator since June of 2014. So stop with the delusions that Bellator will be fine just because you all typed it up. It takes more than wishful thinking and showing one year of profit out of 5 years for Bellator to be fine. This delusional idea that Bellator fans will now all of sudden flock to Showtime just because is hilarious. We've seen fans don't follow television shows when they move nights and/or channels historically as the numbers usually steadily decline. Bellator finally made a profit in 2019, good for them, but it has to become sustainable as the normal. If DAZN and Bellator part ways, did it come to anyone's mind that Bellator won't have that $33 million dollars from DAZN to sign fighters, pay staffers, and other expenses? Now Bellator has to go back to using their own money to do those very same things. Things will get more frugal.

 

[Bubba32]

View attachment 770228
Half of their revenue comes from the DAZN deal, they wold still be profitable without it but I dont think they would be profitable enough to keep signing free-agents and keeping their best fighters, unless CBS/Viacom replaces that stream of money with their own money.

have you ever heard of a business losing half its revenue and staying in business? dazn and ticket sales (nobody buying tiks during covid) means 63% of revenue.

Bellator even admits that the dazn deal is the reason why they've finally stopped losing money.

Looks like Bellator is imploding before our eyes. Who even knows if Dazn can stay in business once the covid dust clears.

 

[TrueBias]

Since Dayz Inn came on board, I've seen LESS bellator.

I don't have cable, so i go to bars to watch bellator, when it's on tv. If it isn't, I'll stream it at home, but i hardly ever care to..

 

[RODNEY83]

have you ever heard of a business losing half its revenue and staying in business? dazn and ticket sales (nobody buying tiks during covid) means 63% of revenue.

Bellator even admits that the dazn deal is the reason why they've finally stopped losing money.

Looks like Bellator is imploding before our eyes. Who even knows if Dazn can stay in business once the covid dust clears.

Exactly. Instead of having a $33 million dollars head start/starter kit to pay everyone and invest in New ideas and markets, Bellator under Coker will have to use its own money to pay arenas, to pay staffers, to pay fighters, to pay creditors, then pay itself with whatever is left over from that. So instead of making this great profit for the very first time in the Coker era after 5 years, Bellator will have to go back to being frugal and being smart and hoping to make a profit again.

 

[Baba Ghanoush]

Anyone with half a brain knew DAZN wasn’t going to last very long in the US at the pace they were spending. It was inevitable they were going to have restructure a few deals. The content isn’t there to justify a subscription based model when you’re only getting a decent to great bellator/boxing card maybe every other month. Even worse they don’t maintain a library of it.

And anyone who thought they were going to be able to land one of the big four sports to an exclusive deal were freaking delusional. Don’t know how many times I saw this ridiculous notion being posted when DAZN initially started. Shows how much ignorance a lot of sherdoggers have when it comes to sports outside of MMA.

 

[Rizz]

Pride did the same thing, and people loved it.bellator follows Pride’s and K1’s model, and gets shit on. I guess because Scott’s American.

The times have changed. People don't fall for that crap anymore. The older MMA gets the more educated hardcore fans become. If your star fighter can't constantly beat decent competition well maybe they are just not really a star fighter. I understand a squash match for a fighter with a long layoff. Giving a fighter one after a number 1 contender fight loss or championship fight loss will never be acceptable.