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Aint That a Kick in the Head
Joe Hand and Ultimate Fighting Championship Pack Sports Bars
When pay-per-view television came into being back in the 1990s,
Joe Hand Jr., the son of two Philadelphia police officers and the
holder of a degree in criminal justice himself, could see the end in
sight for the arena-distributed, sports-viewing business known as Joe
Hand Promotions, that his father began back in the 1980s to mass
telecast the fights of Philadelphia native and boxing great Joe Frazier.
“We said, ‘It has been a good run, but once people can watch fights
and other sporting events at home, they will never want to come to an
arena,’” Hand Jr. recalls.
A New Horizon
The apparent turn of events was particularly disappointing for him
as someone who had given up the dream of playing professional
basketball to work with his father in the business that had grown to
include television distribution of other fights such as the Sugar Ray
Leonard versus Roberto Durand bout — Hand Jr.’s first experience with
the company, that caused him to ask his father afterward, “How come you
sent me to college, when I could make all of this money?”
But as fate would have it, Hand Jr. and his father, who had retired
from the police department to devote full time to the business, really
only was getting started in the high-tech field of sports entertainment
communication and distribution that was sweeping the country.
“The arena sports distribution audience dried up all right, but a
new phenomenon –– the sports bar –– came along right behind it,” Hand
Jr. says. Sports bar owners began calling him to ask if they could show
Joe Hand Promotions fights in their bars. “It was clear that we were
going to start selling the signal to neighborhood sports bars.”
We’re No. 1
The giant communications leap that began in the 1990s and continues
today meant that Hand Jr. had to alter the way he did business a bit,
but all of the know-how and effort that went into the success of the
arena-style format served him well — putting him in prime position to
take advantage of the sports viewing phenomenon that fed a mass
audience.
About that time, the technology also improved, Hand Jr. says.
“DirecTV came into existence, and they helped us deliver the signal
to bars.” The result? “We are the No. 1 company for delivery of special
events sports and entertainment programming to sports bars and
practically any commercial venue with a beverage license and the
technology in place to receive the signal.”
With its delivery of a combination of marshal arts programming such
as kickboxing, Judo, Jujitsu and other sports events 10 times a year to
customers, spaced approximately 30 to 45 days apart on average, UFC now
is a product that bars want to get all the time.
The affluent 18 to 34 demographic that Ultimate Fighting
Championship consistently attracts to a venue is a big reason why more
and more sports bar owners and operators are opting to buy it for the
always excitement-starved customers in their establishments, Hand Jr.
says.
“They are a great demographic, but you have to have the right product for them.”
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