Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports reported last week that TUF would no longer be live. The decision comes in part due to time overruns, the inability to develop storylines and ratings
The live format was supposed to attract viewers with live fights. However, the ratings revealed the lowest ratings of the series. White was quoted in the Yahoo! article that if the ratings are not better on the Friday, 10pm slot, he was promised by Fox execs that it would move the series to Tuesday or Wednesday nights.
Via Yahoo! Sports:
According to FX spokesman Dominic Pagone, TUF was the second-most watched series on basic cable on Friday nights among men 18-34 and 18-49, which is the UFC’s key demographic, trailing only “WWE SmackDown!” on Syfy. Adding women, TUF was the third-most watched series in that slot on basic cable among adults 18-34 and 18-49.
Still, White believes that the series would move if it runs into another season of poor ratings. “FX wants to try it again on Friday nights,” White said to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, “But if it’s not up to the standards I’m expecting, I’m pretty sure they’ll give me what I want. But this season was a smash hit home run for them.”
TUF Live Episode 1: 1.28 million viewers
TUF Live Episode 2: 1.1 million viewers
TUF Live Episode 3: 1.2 million viewers
TUF Live Episode 4: 1.1 million viewers
TUF Live Episode 5: 947,000 viewers
TUF Live Episode 6: 1 million viewers
TUF Live Episode 7: 1 million viewers
TUF Live Episode 8: 929,000 viewers
TUF Live Episode 9: 954,000 viewers
TUF Live Episode 10: 948,000 viewers
TUF Live Episode 11: 821,000 viewers
TUF Live Episode 12: 875,000 viewers.
Payout Perspective:
Going back to taping the show should help in developing some storylines (e.g., rivalries, confrontations, etc.) within the house. It’s ironic since TUF is supposed to be a “reality” show. But, either the UFC or Fox or both overestimated how well TUF Live would be received. A combination of time slot, day and unknown fighters equated to poor ratings. The interesting part of the article is the expectation that White believes that Fox will move the show to Tuesday or Wednesday if TUF does not perform this fall. What happens if Fox decides to keep TUF on Fridays despite its ratings? We will see what the UFC will try to do to keep the American version of TUF fresh. Certainly picking the right coaches would help. But, a lot of pressure will be put on the fighters to be good fighters and have a personality that people will want to watch.
I liked this season of TUF far better than prior seasons. I liked the lack of manufactured storylines. I like how they spent more time showing the training and fight plan for the upcoming fight.
It unfortunate they want to revert back to the manufactured story lines. We have seen them all many times over:
– the angry or crazy drunk that drinks all the time
– the end of the season trashing of the house
– the prankster or pranksters that goes overboard in their pranks
– the easily bullied guy that doesn’t stand up for himself
– the traitor who slips information to the other team
– the guy who is so confident in his heterosexuality that he feels free to strip naked and dance in front of other guys
– the overly emotional fighter who cries in the pre and post fight confessionals because he is fighting for his wife and child whom he loves deeply
– the coach that doesn’t give a shit
– the coach whose is more concerned with how a player’s loss reflects on him than he is with the actual player
– the coaches who don’t like each other
Am I missing a storyline?