One Championship hits record $130m losses in 2019

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Hello readers,

Muay Thai, judo, karate…we’ve likely seen actors and stunt people doing awesome moves from these practices in plenty of movies. They had looked so stylish that I was tempted and took up a Muay Thai class when I was younger (nobody told me, though, that there would be so many cardio exercises involved).

While martial arts on the screen are usually choreographed and made to look dazzling, real fights in the ring are messier and scarier: I often have to look away while watching my father’s favorite mixed martial arts fighter elbows their opponent’s face on TV. Nonetheless, MMA has its pool of loyal fans (like Dad), but can having viewership sustain the business of Asia’s top MMA entity?

Today we look at:

• One Championship’s revenue, losses and gross margin in 2019
• College edtech startup gets funding
• Other newsy highlights such as SoftBank’s two new SPACs and the growing popularity of Clubhouse among users in China

PREMIUM SUMMARY

One’s caught in a chokehold

One Championship is burning a lot of cash. In 2019, the Asian sports media company made S$62 million but lost S$131 million – that’s more than double its revenue.

• Let’s talk gross margins: After delving into One Championship’s revenue and expenses, it’s calculated that the company only had a 2% gross margin. To put that number into perspective, its competitor Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has a gross margin of around 30%.
• With great marketing plans come great expenses: One Championship allocated a huge budget to marketing in 2019, but its marketing expenses exceeded its total revenue.
• 2020 was even more challenging: The company had to suspend its events last year as the pandemic hit.

Dive into all the charts and numbers: One Championship made $62m but lost $131m in 2019

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