Dana White posted a response to the critics that have called out the low ratings for The Ultimate Fighter 13’s debut. On the Underground, he posted a response stating that TUF was here to stay.
Via The Underground:
“SINCE WHEN IS 1.5 MILLIONS VIEWERS BAD? People have been saying it is dead since season 4. Sit back and watch bitches or don’t. TUF isnt going anywhere!!!! deal with it.”
The post was authored by dfw jr, White’s alias on the forum.
Payout Perspective:
The expected response from dfw jr? In comparison, Bjorn Rebney’s response to Bellator’s low ratings was measured and painted the future of Bellator in a positive light. On the other hand, White’s response is defensive. Definitely both White and Rebney have issues with its shows. However, it is too early to call each a failure. TUF is not off to a good start. It may have to rely on guest stars or breakout fighters from the house to attract viewers. But, as we’ve been told, TUF is not going anywhere.
He’s got a point. The ratings aren’t bad per se, they just aren’t what was expected given Lesnar’s presence on the show.
MV: No doubt. So why does he need to come out and denounce critics already?
Wow, Dana is actually in defensive mode. By now you would think he would have matured beyond bickering with the blogosphere. Relatively speaking the numbers were pretty disappointing, however, it’s early in the season and things could start to move in the other direction. Personally, as I have indicated on this site in the past I’ve stopped watching consistently since around season 4. It would only be a matter of time that the show levels off and drops a tad in ratings. Even American Idol and Survivor have dropped over the years.
Well, I know some are saying that the ratings are low because they didn’t have a live fight card leading the new season, but then think about it… do you need a live fight card to get people to watch Brock Lesnar on free TV? This is the #1 PPV seller in UFC. His average UFC PPV sales per event are only a few hundred thousand less than how many people tuned in for the season debut of TUF last week.
Sometimes I think Dana responds to things like this just so he won’t have to hear about the same issue in interviews and press conferences over, and over, and over…