UFC & WWE: Will Endeavor's fight lead to scripted content betting?

Key insights in this post: 

– 14.4% of the UFC audience has also engaged with WWE content, whereas only 1.1% of the (larger) WWE audience has engaged with UFC content

– 3.27% of WWE fans have also engaged with a sportsbook brand

– 75.2% of the sportsbook audience has also engaged with TV and movie content

Endeavor is bringing WWE and UFC into the same arena, achieving greater leverage in an industry where live events continue to outperform. The Diesel Labs team analyzed the potential of the newly joint audience and found that surprisingly, the fan bases have less in common than expected.

Starting at the top, 14.4% of the UFC audience has also engaged with WWE content, whereas only 1.1% of the (larger) WWE audience has engaged with UFC content. 

A rumor making the rounds currently is whether WWE will foray into supporting betting on scripted match outcomes. The prospect of being able to bet on predetermined matches has raised people’s eyebrows in the pro wrestling fan community, 3.27% of which have also engaged with a sportsbook brand. 

Compare these statistics to those from the 95th Academy Awards (the closest thing to scripted tv betting that is currently supported) where 1% of Oscars fans engaged with a sportsbook brand.

Although not currently available, a future ability to bet on WWE outcomes would open the door for other types of scripted content. 75.2% of the sportsbook audience has also engaged with TV and movie content, which supports the hypothesis that betting engaged individuals may be intrigued by the offering.

Looking at the heavy consumption of media content among sportsbook fans by network, we find that with 31.8% have engaged with Netflix, 26.4% with NBC, 21.9% with HBOMax and 18.8% with ESPN.

Stay tuned to Diesel Labs for more industry highlights!