ONE Championship: Friday night fight telecasts surprise CEO Chatri Sityodtong by outrating all comers – even soap operas
- Ratings show the weekly Lumpinee Stadium events are viewed by 3.3 per cent of Thai households, way ahead of the competition
- The promotion’s CEO says ‘from day one it became the No 1 hit show in Thailand … not just for sport, but all entertainment’
ONE Championship’s Friday night fight telecasts have become so popular they are not just the most-watched Muay Thai shows in the country, they also beat the soap operas – traditionally among the most popular shows in Thailand.
According to Nielsen Media Research’s latest ratings, the weekly events at Lumpinee Stadium are watched by 3.3 per cent of households in the country, way ahead of the competition.
Chatri Sityodtong, ONE Championship’s CEO and founder, thinks this is particularly impressive as the events are broadcast by Channel 7 on Friday night.
Speaking exclusively to the Post, he said the weekly shows beat “every content stack every single week. From day one it became the No 1 hit show in Thailand – not just for Muay Thai, not just for sport, but all entertainment.”
Chatri says that the success of these weekly events has taken even him by surprise.
“When Channel 7 had the idea of bringing ONE in to go head to head with the soap operas, I wasn’t confident we would be number one because if you look at history, soap operas are the number one performing content. Our growth has been phenomenal; the fans have really embraced our brand.”
The shows do occasionally feature MMA, kickboxing and submission grappling but most fights are under Muay Thai rules. ONE Championship has reduced the number of rounds from five to three and also reduced the size of the gloves. The general view is this new format has created more exciting fights.
It has not all been plain sailing for Chatri though, who says he had to overcome a lot of obstacles to take his product into the crowded Thai market.
Lumpinee Stadium is owned by the Royal Thai Army and Chatri admits he did not accept their proposal to start promoting fights there immediately. The ONE Championship boss had concerns about the state of the sport in Thailand.
In the past, gamblers at Muay Thai stadiums had paid fighters to take a dive or even poisoned them as vast amounts of money were wagered on the fight outcomes.
Chatri did not want to be associated with any of this.
“If you look at the past 10 years, Muay Thai has been on the decline because of all the scandals every week of this fighter throwing the fight, or this judge being paid off or whatever it is.
“[Our] product was designed with no gambling in the stadium, just pure sport. No outside influence allowed.”
Historically there has not been much money in Muay Thai, at least not for the people doing battle inside the actual ring, but that is slowly starting to change. On the Friday night shows, US$10,000 (HK$78,104) bonuses are handed out to fighters who impress Chatri.
ONE Friday Fights 65 takes place this week and will be headlined by a flyweight Muay Thai fight between Jaosuayai Mor Krungthepthonburi and Puengluang Baanramba.
It will be available to view live and free on YouTube for viewers in Hong Kong.
