Scott Coker focused on bringing back fringe fans and casuals back to mma

All you former and fringe MMA fans who may have seen your love for the sport subside over the years? You’re on Scott Coker’s wish list.

Coker, who’s still in his first year as Bellator MMA’s president, recently wrapped up his biggest event for the company. He thinks it served as proof that the promotion’s strategy in 2015 needs to focus on winning back fans who may have drifted away from the sport.

After all, on Nov. 15, Bellator 131 took place in San Diego, and more than 2 million viewers tuned in for the headliner between UFC Hall of Famers Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar.

Both vets are clearly past their prime, and neither had much success in recent years. But their name value, along with a hefty promotional push, resulted in strong ratings and some real promise as Bellator gears up for a revamped strategy heading into the new year.

“I just thought it was an amazing event, something we can be proud of,” Coker told MMAjunkie Radio. “And the numbers speak for themselves. I mean, a 2.2 million peak? I mean, that’s pretty amazing.

“I think one of things we were able to do is bring the fringe fans back, the casual fans back, to MMA. I think that’s something that MMA needs. Let’s bring back those fans and not rely on just the hardcores.”


Stephan Bonnar and Tito Ortiz
However, Bellator 131 wasn’t just about the notable names in the headliner. Will Brooks and Michael Chandler met in a championship rematch in the co-headliner, and an intriguing bout between strikers Joe Schilling and Melvin Manhoef complemented some other notables, including Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, Nam Phan and Mike Richman. Basically, the card had a little something for any fan’s taste.

Coker, though, said a conscientiousness marketing strategy also played a big part. Three weeks separated Bellator 131 from the end of the organization’s 11th season and its weekly shows. Coker, though, said company executives used the break to their advantage.

“We had a three-week gap between our last fight of the season and the Tito Ortiz fight with Bonnar, and I think we spent that three weeks building it up, building it up and making it a big, big event,” he said. “So I think the formula is there. I think before, when Bellator was doing these weekly shows, it was almost like it was too much. You don’t have time to promote, to really paint the picture of what the fight is really going to be about it. …

“Now we have time to really promote the fight and get to the fans through our digital content and programming on Spike – promoting an event. That’s really want my goal is: to make each and every show an event.”

Coker said they’ll use the strategy in 2015, when the company moves from weekly shows to a more traditional format that includes four major shows and 12 supplemental events that are all spaced out.

Coker said Bellator 131’s success helped convince him that a weekly schedule isn’t needed to build and maintain momentum. Instead, it’s about how the organization uses its assets, including a key cog to its marketing machine.

“One of the things that I noticed when I came on board at Spike is that our digital department is probably our largest department in the company,” he said. “They pump out a tremendous amount of great shoulder programming, as well as Spike having shoulder programming on the network.

“That’ll be a key to our strategy next year.”

For more on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

Really glad to see them finally promoting events andit already paid off in a massive amount of viewers.the trend will only increase with them planning to use shoulder programming and put those big viacom bucks to use.

He isn't doing a good enough job to win me back over. these monthly cards are hardly winning me back

Well next event is british invasion so that should wet your pants lol

Theyve done a great job imo and if what theyve been talking about comes to fruition it will be wonderful.

Shits all over any NA company and some others.

MMA is dead. Boxing killed it. Just look at the forum. It is no longer MMA. Pretty soon MMA will be deleted entirely from the forum.

Mma doesn't need a forum.....the site has mma in its name....

Yeah before the merge kickboxing and boxing didnt have half the views it does now..

fka wrote:Well next event is british invasion so that should wet your pants lol

Theyve done a great job imo and if what theyve been talking about comes to fruition it will be wonderful.

Shits all over any NA company and some others.

The British invasion card is a good one. Looking forward to that.

The British invasion card is desperation

Coker needs to co-promote with M-1. 
Get Aleks & Kharitonov to fight in the US.

M1 co promotion is in the works bellator is exclusively lending its fighters to Russian mma orgs.

Lmfao at british invasion being desperation...

That card is great....your hatred of bellator is getting pretty desperate tho....