MMAFighting.com reporter Ariel Helwani tweeted on Jan. 3 that he thinks the Jan. 5 Invicta FC 4 event will receive approximately 10,000 pay-per-view buys.
"My pal @MMARising asked a good q: how many buys do you think Invicta will get for its 1st PPV on Saturday? I say 5-10k, which isn't so bad," Helwani wrote on his official Twitter page.
Later in the day, Helwani revealed the cost of the Invicta FC 4 pay-per-view.
"7 bucks. RT @gspufc2011: @arielhelwani @MMARising Hiw much is the PPV?? If it's under 20$ I'm in!!!" Helwani posted.
The actual cost of the Invicta FC 4 stream is $7.95, so the promotion would bring in just $80,000 in additional revenue if Helwani's prediction comes true.
Each of the first three Invicta FC events drew in excess of 200,000 viewers, so drawing just 10,000 buyers would represent a significant drop-off in exposure. Part of the appeal of fighting for Invicta FC was the built-in exposure and viewership provided by an all-female fight card. Invicta FC 2 received over 230,000 views as a free online stream, and Invicta FC 3 delivered another highly-viewed card.
Invicta FC 4 will be the promotion's first chance to see where they stand as far as making progress in monetizing the brand.
"It will be interesting to see how their viewership numbers are affected," Invicta FC 4 fighter Laura Sanko explained. "The company has to demonstrate a track record of solid revenues to attract a buyer, and I'm sure its helpful in negotiating a relationship with a television partner too. I think its a sign of Shannon's business savvy that they are making this move now. The true test of whether you are offering the marketplace anything of value is whether they will pay for it, how much, and how often. Its good for Invicta and it's good for women's MMA."
Invicta FC 4 fighter Tecia Torres thinks the event will draw far more than the number Helwani predicted.
"If the average free Invicta FC card received 200,000 views, maybe 50% of those viewers will pay the $8 to stream Invicta FC 4," Torres said. "So 100,000 viewers multiplied by $8 equates to $800,000 in additional revenue. I'm not sure how much it costs to pay for everything that goes into running the show, but at the end of the day I'm sure there will be some money leftover to go into the fighter's purses."
Invicta FC 4 is set for Jan. 5 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan.
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