ONE Championship is taking a cautious approach to restarting their events, but company Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong believes the global stage of martial arts will soon return.
The Home Of Martial Arts is now in talks with health and government officials from different countries to make sure they are not putting their athletes and employees at risk once they reopen.
Given that ONE operates all over Asia, there will be differences with guidelines and safety measures in each country, something that Sityodtong and his team are familiarizing themselves with.
“Different governments have different policies on their borders, as well as their lockdown policies, so that’s been a little bit tricky in getting everything up and running,” Sityodtong shared in an interview with the Associated Press.
“But my team and I have been working on it nonstop, and we feel pretty good about it.”
In various parts of the world, sports are slowly reopening.
Big football leagues in Europe, such as the Spanish La Liga, the English Premier League, and the German Bundesliga, are already running. The NBA has also set a date for the resumption of its season.
ONE’s counterpart out West, the UFC, has been holding shows in Florida, where the restrictions are more lenient.
Sityodtong credited UFC President Dana White’s bold move while assuring that his team is just as intense in looking for ways to get things going.
“Of course I give mad respect to Dana White for having the courage and the vision to pull off events in such a tricky time. At ONE Championship, we have the same level of intensity
“But I would say we are a little more prudent because safety is our highest priority. We are not in a rush to come back just for the sake of coming back due to our financial commitments to broadcasters and brands and whatnot. We want to come back in an environment where we are sure that we can do it safely for all parties involved,” he opined.
ONE has been able to adjust though, shifting their focus onto the online world with different highlights, shows, and even short, entertaining videos of their athletes.
This has paid off in a big way, as they ranked fourth among sports media properties when it comes to online viewership according to Tubular Labs.
With 5.6 billion views in 2019, ONE is a step ahead of the UFC, which ranked fifth with 3.8 billion views.
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