Professional wrestling and mixed martial arts did very well in 2019 particularly in the realm of online video viewership. The latest statistics released by leading independent global data and online video analytics provider Tubular Labs showed end-users and consumers gravitated more towards combat sports and martial arts content compared to other sports.

Amajor authority in online video analytics, Tubular Labs is certified under the official YouTube Measurement Program. It provides comprehensive and actionable video intelligence by gathering data and information from online video platforms including YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.

In 2019, martial arts and combat sports segments took up three of the top five spots among all sports teams and leagues. This is a remarkable statistic based on the immense popularity of team sports like basketball and football.

Over the past few years, the rise of online short-format video has seen a significant increase in daily media consumption globally, format primed to better hold the attention span of potential viewers because it combines a lot of information with concise delivery.  Thousands of videos are uploaded every day across all platforms and the most interesting ones go viral.

According to Tubular Labs, there are more than 269,000 online creators who are each generating at least a million unique views every month. This is enough to post more than 6 billion videos, which Tubular Labs sifts through and measures.

The vast amount of media means the competition for viewership is fierce, and target audiences are fragmented and crowded. Every organization is competing for a slice of the pie, making this victory for martial arts even more impressive.

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Throwing it back to @bobbylashley’s last #WWE Championship opportunity against @johncena at The Great American Bash in 2007. @the305mvp remembers it all too well. #TBT

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