A Land of Monopolists: From Portable Toilets to Mixed Martial Arts
mattstoller.substack.com
A Land of Monopolists: From Portable Toilets to Mixed Martial Arts
1–10 of 51 posts
Re: A Land of Monopolists: From Portable Toilets to Mixed Martial Arts
#22 things I got out of this,
first is how I see the same names showing up multiple times. KKR and Platinum Equity seem to have a niche for obscure monopolies.
And also that is seems to be a viable strategy to start a port-a-john business to be acquired by Platinum Equity's United Site Services port-a-john empire.
Also Dana White hasn't been run out of town yet and everyday I wonder how that is still possible.
Re: A Land of Monopolists: From Portable Toilets to Mixed Martial Arts
#32 things I got out of this, first is how I see the same names showing up multiple times. KKR and Platinum Equity seem to have a niche for obscure monopolies. And also that is seems to be a viable strategy to start a port-a-john business to be acquired by Platinum Equity's United Site Services port-a-john empire. Also Dana White hasn't been run out of town yet and everyday I wonder how that is still possible.
The cult of JRE fans helped give its popularity another boost, but in reality, what other league are you going to watch save a different fight sport like boxing? People like to huddle around the cooler and focus on one league (See: NFL, MLB, NBA). That's not to say WNBA or XFL don't exist, but think about the multiplier of games you'd have to keep track of with your friends for all of them.
Natural entertainment monopolies...interesting concept.
Re: A Land of Monopolists: From Portable Toilets to Mixed Martial Arts
#42 things I got out of this, first is how I see the same names showing up multiple times. KKR and Platinum Equity seem to have a niche for obscure monopolies. And also that is seems to be a viable strategy to start a port-a-john business to be acquired by Platinum Equity's United Site Services port-a-john empire. Also Dana White hasn't been run out of town yet and everyday I wonder how that is still possible.
The cult of JRE fans helped give its popularity another boost, but in reality, what other league are you going to watch save a different fight sport like boxing? People like to huddle around the cooler and focus on one league (See: NFL, MLB, NBA). That's not to say WNBA or XFL don't exist, but think about the multiplier of games you'd have to keep track of with your friends for all of them. Natural entertainment mono…
Well OneFC is a pretty viable competitor in Asian markets. I love their 4oz muay thai division. PFL seems like it has a lot of potential in the US but trying to overthrow a monopoly is hard of course.
I agree with your statement though, I've written about it before back when XFL was going on. I think there is some potential for multiple fighting orgs however. But first they need to take away some market share from UFC. Once they get on more even grounds we might see cross-promotion fights, something that is normal in boxing. As it stands though, UFC has nothing to gain from that, but Bellator/OneFC cross promotion has been floated in the past.
Re: A Land of Monopolists: From Portable Toilets to Mixed Martial Arts
#5Earlier quoted context omitted.
The cult of JRE fans helped give its popularity another boost, but in reality, what other league are you going to watch save a different fight sport like boxing? People like to huddle around the cooler and focus on one league (See: NFL, MLB, NBA). That's not to say WNBA or XFL don't exist, but think about the multiplier of games you'd have to keep track of with your friends for all of them. Natural entertainment mono…
Well OneFC is a pretty viable competitor in Asian markets. I love their 4oz muay thai division. PFL seems like it has a lot of potential in the US but trying to overthrow a monopoly is hard of course. I agree with your statement though, I've written about it before back when XFL was going on. I think there is some potential for multiple fighting orgs however. But first they need to take away some market share from UF…
ONE (previously OneFC) is not a competitor in any sense of the word. They have extremely low ratings, were kicked off of ESPN for low ratings, and have to comp most tickets to every show. They are deeply unprofitable and simply burning investor (now VC) cash
Re: A Land of Monopolists: From Portable Toilets to Mixed Martial Arts
#6It's not really the UFC's fault that multiple MMA promotions have also been attempted, and failed as businesses. No non-UFC promotion (Bellator, ONE, Rizin, KSW, Cage Warriors, LFA, etc.) has turned even a dime in profits in the last decade. And Bellator has signed multiple famous UFC fighters (former champs like Benson Henderson), including some (Phil Davis, Ryan Bader) at the height of their career. I don't think their ratings even budge a bit when these ex-UFC fighters are on.
I don't think the UFC should have been allowed to buy Strikeforce, and I think many of their restrictive contract provision should be struck down in court. But it's not the government's fault that none of the UFC's competitors are unable to turn a profit, and I don't really see a role for government there overall. If some business models don't work in practice, they don't work
Re: A Land of Monopolists: From Portable Toilets to Mixed Martial Arts
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well OneFC is a pretty viable competitor in Asian markets. I love their 4oz muay thai division. PFL seems like it has a lot of potential in the US but trying to overthrow a monopoly is hard of course. I agree with your statement though, I've written about it before back when XFL was going on. I think there is some potential for multiple fighting orgs however. But first they need to take away some market share from UF…
ONE (previously OneFC) is not a competitor in any sense of the word. They have extremely low ratings, were kicked off of ESPN for low ratings, and have to comp most tickets to every show. They are deeply unprofitable and simply burning investor (now VC) cash
Chatri said that 3 billion people watched a recent ONE event. How can you say they have low ratings?
/s
Re: A Land of Monopolists: From Portable Toilets to Mixed Martial Arts
#82 things I got out of this, first is how I see the same names showing up multiple times. KKR and Platinum Equity seem to have a niche for obscure monopolies. And also that is seems to be a viable strategy to start a port-a-john business to be acquired by Platinum Equity's United Site Services port-a-john empire. Also Dana White hasn't been run out of town yet and everyday I wonder how that is still possible.
> Also Dana White hasn't been run out of town yet and everyday I wonder how that is still possible.
Because UFC makes fights happen. How long did it take for Manny and Floyd to finally go head to head?
Re: A Land of Monopolists: From Portable Toilets to Mixed Martial Arts
#9I worry about something like this happening with housing. PE firms are sitting on a bunch of cash currently and I can imagine a scenario in which the recent damage coronavirus + lockdowns have done to the economy leads to a bunch of foreclosures. If PE firms step in to buy these homes and to manage them at scale that will just lead to further concentration of housing wealth.
Re: A Land of Monopolists: From Portable Toilets to Mixed Martial Arts
#10I worry about something like this happening with housing. PE firms are sitting on a bunch of cash currently and I can imagine a scenario in which the recent damage coronavirus + lockdowns have done to the economy leads to a bunch of foreclosures. If PE firms step in to buy these homes and to manage them at scale that will just lead to further concentration of housing wealth.
Greenhorn about private equity/microeconomics here, do PE firms ever have a noble goal in mind of creating a stronger company or do most of them just roll-up and mark-up companies to the next highest bidder, regardless of the health of the company or whether it is even worth that much? Housing already seems troublesome as a late millenial/old zoomer.