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Asia’s largest sports media property hasn’t emerged unscathed over the past financial year.
Combat sports promotion ONE Championship suffered losses of $111 million in 2021, according to an annual filing with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority in Singapore.
ONE Championship — owned by Group ONE Holdings — ranks second in digital viewership among global sports properties but has amassed $383 million in total losses as of Dec. 31, 2021.
- ONE Championship saw marketing expenses reach $56 million in 2021.
- Costs of sales for the promotion hit $35 million during the same period.
- Total revenue reached $67.7 million in 2021, up 19% year-over-year.
- Revenue from media rights made up more than $50 million of total revenue in 2021.
ONE Championship could hit the public market soon, as its parent company prepares for an initial public offering.
In August, Group ONE announced plans to change its legal domicile from Singapore to the Cayman Islands. The company originally planned to go public via a SPAC merger and had previously been linked to Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs for the deal.
Going Global
In January, Group ONE raised $150 million in a funding round led by Guggenheim Investments and the Qatar Investment Authority, valuing ONE Championship at $1.4 billion and allowing for expansion outside of Asia.
In July, it agreed to a multiyear streaming rights deal with Amazon Prime Video and secured a pact in September with BeIN Media Group to broadcast events in North Africa and the Middle East.
