ONE Championship’s Friday night broadcasts have become so popular that they are not only the most-watched Muay Thai show in the country, but also surpass soap operas, which are traditionally some of the most popular shows in the country.
According to the latest ratings from Nielsen Media Research, the weekly event at Lumpinee Stadium is watched by 3.3 percent of domestic households, far ahead of other sports.
ONE Championship CEO and founder Chatri Sityodtong believes this is particularly impressive as the event will air on Channel 7 on Friday night.
In an exclusive interview with The Post, he said the weekly show “beat all other content every week. From day one it became the number one hit show in Thailand — not just in Muay Thai, not just in sports, but in all of entertainment.”
Chatri said the success of these weekly events has even surprised him.
“When Channel 7 came up with the idea to introduce ONE and go head-to-head with soap operas, they never thought we'd be number one because historically, soap operas are the top-selling content. Our growth has been phenomenal and fans have really embraced our brand.”
While the show occasionally features MMA, kickboxing, and submission grappling, most bouts are fought under Muay Thai rules. ONE Championship has reduced the number of rounds from five to three and has also reduced the size of the gloves. The general consensus is that this new format has resulted in more exciting bouts.
But it hasn't all been smooth sailing for Chatri, who says he had to overcome many hurdles to bring his product to Thailand's competitive market.
Lumpinee Stadium is owned by the Royal Thai Army, and Chatri admitted he did not accept the army's proposal to immediately start promoting fights there, as the ONE Championship boss had concerns about the state of boxing in Thailand.
In the past, gamblers at Muay Thai arenas would bet huge sums on the outcome of bouts and sometimes paid or poisoned fighters to dive.
Chatri wanted nothing to do with this.
“Looking back over the past decade, Muay Thai has been in decline with fighters abandoning matches, referees being bribed and other scandals occurring every week.
“[Our] This product was designed as a pure sports product with no consideration for gambling within the stadium. No outside influences are permitted.”
Historically, there hasn't been much prize money in Muay Thai, at least for those who fight inside the ring, but that's slowly starting to change: Friday night's show will see a $10,000 (HK$78,104) bonus awarded to anyone who impresses Chatri.
This week’s ONE Friday Fights 65 will be headlined by a flyweight Muay Thai bout between Jaosuayai Mo “Krungtheppunburi” Jaosuayai and Puenruang Baanramba.
The event will be streamed live on YouTube and available for free to viewers in Hong Kong.
