MMA Payout has learned from Nielsen sources that Wednesday’s TUF episode 12 received an average viewership of 510,000. The viewership was down from last week’s episode.
TUF 18 Episodes
Episode 1: 762,000 viewers
Episode 2: 870,000 viewers
Episode 3: 639,000 viewers
Episode 4: 778,000 viewers
Episode 5: 640,000 viewers
Episode 6: 725,000 viewers
Episode 7: 672,000 viewers
Episode 8: 476,000 viewers
Episode 9: 452,000 viewers
Episode 10: 583,000 viewers
Episode 11 561,000 viewers
Episode 12: 510,000 viewers
Payout Perspective:
As the season ends next week, the viewership has decreased the past three weeks. Perhaps the last women’s fight on the show will help spur some interest. There was no fight this week due to Anthony Gutierrez missing weight although the show featured the customary coaches’ challenge which Ronda Rousey won. Topping the night on cable was American Horror Story on FX with close to 4 million viewers according to TV By Numbers.
One word… miserable
Pretty sure you mean the opposite in the 2nd sentence about viewership being “up from last week”.
Fans clearly lost interest in this season.
The huge decline from the first 2 eps can’ t be blamed on difficulty finding the channel.
Events that interest fans on FS1 have not had much trouble finding an audience.
UFC, and fan’s of women’s MMA, are trying to spin the higher #s for the women’s fights vs the men’s fights as a positive. But the reality is the #s for both suck. It’s just the ratings for the women’s fights don’t suck quite as bad as for the men’s fights.
And the explanation for that is the obvious one. These low viewership #s are getting down to the hardcores. And the hardcores know the women fighting are some of the best women, but the men aren’t.
The good news is TUF, despite the low #s compared to previous TUFs, is still usually top 5-10 in ratings for FS1.
On FS1, TUF is usually only beat by UFC prelims, college football, and Nascar Trucks races (that’s Nascar’s 3rd tier national series that features drivers that nobody, except the hardcore race fans, has heard of).
Lessons learned – the novelty of TUF is long gone, and Rousey isn’t as big of a star as UFC thought.
The first time casual fans saw stuff like the insanity of weight-cutting they were amazed people would torture themselves like that. By the 10th time it’s just some dude sitting in the bath, or sauna, or covered with towels and being yelled at to not wuss out.
Fixed. Thanks Jose
I agree Jose. But I do disagree that Rousey isn’t as big as a draw as the UFC thought. Just like when Brock couldn’t bring ratings on TUF ether. People want to see them fight. Not stand there o TUF where they know nothing is going to happen. I also feel the weight cutting thing could still interest people. But not when its no name people. Lets face it. When the season starts we don’t know who is worth a damn and worth paying attention to. By the end of the season we still don’t know if anyone is worth paying attention to. With so many people on the show. Its impossible to get attached to any of the fighters on the show. They need to pick 2-3 prospects and follow them with a reality show. That way we know these are highly regarded prospects who should go on to big things. Rather than the house full of bums who are forced into fight conditions that are not even close to the ones they will experience in the UFC. By 17 seasons now. We know the UFC isn’t putting anyone great on TUF. We also know they really cant put top prospects on the show because it is to risky under those conditions.
The UFC should have created another reality concept long ago and used TUF as a lead in to built it. Then that concept would have feed into TUF and kept it alive down the road. Even though TUF is played out. There is no dispure what it has done for the UFC and MMA in the US and now in Brazil. Why in the world have they not tried to create another show that could do the same rather than ride TUF into the ground and live and die by it? Beats me!
I agree miserable! I hope i spelled it right! Lol
I remember when Boxing made a push a while back on women fighting, 2 min rounds and Ali’s daughter was the face. Didn’t work, was extremely boring and fans didn’t dig it. Womens MMA has been exciting for the most part. Some of the best fights on strike force events where the women fights. MMA fans want action, not some technical crap. Men want to see women fight not constanlty do arm bars! Rousey is and excellent technision but it won’t translate into much success in MMA. She has the wrong style to make a name. People will watch once or twice and then just get bored. The story Rousey wins by submision is old and in the way, get some women that strike and fight.
This just goes to show that WMMA isn’t nearly as big as ppl try to make it out to be. At all. This is THE very first season for women. THE supposed cream of the crop. Yet ratings are crap. Does it have room to grow? Sure. But just like all women’s sports, the ceiling is extremely low. I’m not trying to be a mysoginist–it’s just fact. NBA vs. WNBA, Baseball vs. softball, etc.
For the life of me, I still don’t understand why they haven’t revisited the Comeback season/idea.
How does TUF have anything to do with WMMA? Ratings are on par with other programs on FS1. Everything has declined together due to the move. I don’t see any decline due to WMMA. Also we already have seen Rousey on PPV do well and she is getting a lot of attention. I just don’t see it.
I’m not saying TUF’s ratings are crap BECAUSE of WMMA per se, just that WMMA is irrelevant to most and that it’d be low ratings regardless of what channel it was on (let alone any good or great ratings).
I wish the UFC would just retire TUF while it still has a shred of credibility. Each iteration creates further embarrassment for Zuffa.