Who's the main attraction? Star power as a determinant of Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view demand

ABSTRACTResearch Question: In recent years, global mixed martial arts organization Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has experienced ups and downs with respect to North American pay-per-view (PPV) sales. A prevailing belief suggests the volatility of demand for the league's primary revenue stream is largely attributable to the organizational presence and loss of star fighters. Extant research indicates that star athletes are those individuals who display both great skills and are popular in the media. With respect to the primary two facets of star power and the growth of UFC, the purpose of this research was to quantitatively operationalize the variable and assess its influence utilizing a longitudinal, comprehensive data set.RQ: What impact does star power have on UFC PPV demand?Methods: The sampling frame consists of 102 observations, UFC numbered events 72–183 (2007–2015). A generalized linear model using maximum likelihood estimation was developed to examine the impact of star power on PPV demand, ...