UFC on Fox 2 Averages 4.66 Million, Peaks at 6 Million
January 31, 2012
Saturday night’s UFC on FOX 2 event from the United Center in Chicago posted a 2.6/5 national rating/share, averaging 4.66M viewers and peaking at just over 6 million according to figures released by Nielsen Media Research today.
Fox Sports Media Group Ratings Press Release:
As expected, FOX dominated the night on the important younger demographics. FOX’s 2.4 among Adults 18-49 nearly beat the combined ratings of ABC, CBS, and NBC (2.5 combined) and FOX’s 2.5 among Adults 18-34 easily beat those three network competitors combined (1.4). The three-bout broadcast on FOX averaged 4.7 million viewers from 8:00 PM – 10:19 PM ET.
The two-hour event, the first official network broadcast of FOX’s partnership with UFC, is off slightly (-16%) from the UFC on FOX premiere in November (3.1/5), which was only one hour and featured a highly-anticipated heavyweight championship fight. When comparing similar time periods for the two events, FOX posted a 3.0/5 from 9:00 – 10:15 PM ET, off only a tenth from the November UFC fight.
In several meaningful demographics, the last hour of Saturday’s broadcast rated higher than November’s UFC premiere on FOX with Men 25-49 up +3%, Men 25-54 up +3%, Men 35-54 up +4%.
As anticipation to the night’s main event grew so did the ratings and viewership. The night’s first match between Demian Maia and Chris Weidman scored a 2.2/4 rating/share. The next fight between Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping grew to a 2.7/5. Fans tuned in to see former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans take on undefeated former national champion wrestler Phil Davis with that bout posting a 3.4/6. More than 6 million viewers watched the five-round bout where Evans defeated Davis by unanimous decision
The top five metered markets for Saturday’s UFC on FOX event are: Las Vegas – 4.1/8; Louisville – 4.1/7; Indianapolis – 3.9/7; Greenville – 3.9/6; Tulsa – 3.9/6; and Knoxville – 3.9/6.
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Loretta Hunt of SI.com has more information on the ratings:
The 2-hour and 19-minute broadcast, which started at 8 p.m. EST (5 p.m. PST), peaked with an average 6.080 million viewers (from 10 to 10:19 p.m.) during the five-round main event pitting former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans against Phil Davis.
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Last November, the first one-hour UFC telecast on FOX garnered an average 5.675 million viewers for a 3.1 household rating. It peaked with 8.802 million viewers during the 64-second heavyweight championship bout between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, making it the most watched fight ever (live or taped).
Ratings by Half-hour Blocks:
- UFC on FOX 2 (8:00 pm-8:30 pm): 3.43 million viewers
-UFC on FOX 2 (8:30 pm-9:00 pm): 3.98 million viewers
-UFC on FOX 2 (9:00 pm-9:30 pm): 4.67 million viewers
-UFC on FOX 2 (9:30 pm-10:00 pm): 5.66 million viewers
- Overall: An average of 4.66M (peak of 6.08M) viewers watched the fight live or via DVR playback within the same day.
Payout Perspective:
Compared to the first UFC on FOX event (5.67M average viewers with a peak of 8.8M), this show (4.66M average viewers with a peak of 6.08M) fell short of those numbers despite having an extra hour of air time and three total fights, instead of just one with only seconds of actual fight time. In fact, this event fell in line with previous MMA telecasts that have aired on CBS. The fact that there was over 2 hours of MMA action (11 rounds total) and no exciting back-and-forth’s or finishes to get the fans and crowd involved really hurt the energy of the event. After casual fans complained that there was plenty of hype for only seconds of fighting, they now got the other extreme.
The top five metered markets for Saturday’s UFC on FOX event were Las Vegas (4.1/8), Louisville (4.1/7), Indianapolis (3.9/7), Greenville (3.9/6), Tulsa (3.9/6), and Knoxville (3.9/6). It’s interesting to point out that best markets in terms of national TV have not always been the best markets for PPV. The only west coast market here is Las Vegas, but other markets such as Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, and Hawaii have historically been top PPV markets but did not make the list here on free national TV.
Notable to point out the counter-programming efforts here by Spike TV, who averaged 828K viewers for a “UFC Fight Night” replay and “UFC Unleashed” episodes that aired from 7-11 p.m. ET/PT. Those episodes featured fighters that were fighting on the UFC on FOX 2 event, which most likely created some fan confusion, but on the other hand, gave those FOX viewers an option to tune in to another channel to watch the same product and see some exciting finishes and fights. By looking at the ratings Spike TV has achieved counter-programming UFC on FOX and UFC on FX specials, MMA fans who have become MMA fans by watching Spike TV are still in fact tuning in.
UFC on Fox 2 overnight ratings 2: 4.3 million viewers (UPDATED)
January 29, 2012
TV By the Numbers reports the overnight ratings for UFC on Fox 2 as it clearly won its timeslot among the networks with a 2.2 rating and a 7 share with an estimated 4.373 million viewer average. The numbers may be adjusted (and likely upward) due to the nature of live programming according to TV By the Numbers.
The timeslot victory may be tempered considering it was the only live original network programming during the timeslot and US Figure Skating Championships – a sport with more of a niche audience (outside of the Olympics) than MMA – was the only other live programming on any of the networks.
UPDATE: FOX releases Ratings
Saturday night’s UFC ON FOX event from the United Center in Chicago, posted a 2.7/5 household overnight rating/share, +42% better than FOX’s Saturday primetime average for the previous four weeks (1.9/4), according to Nielsen Media Research.
FOX Sports Research projects that the network is expected to win the night among Adults 18-49 by a wide margin, and may beat ABC, CBS and NBC combined in the Adults 18-34 demographic when national figures are issued tomorrow.
The three-bout, two-hour event, the first official network broadcast of FOX’s partnership with UFC, is off from the UFC on FOX premiere in November (3.5/6), which was only one hour and featured a highly anticipated heavyweight championship fight. When comparing similar time periods for the two events, FOX posted a 3.1/5 from 9:00-10:15 PM ET, compared to the 3.5/6 that the premiere event recorded from 9:00-10:00 PM.
As anticipation to the night’s main event grew so did the ratings. The night’s first match, Jitsu master Demian Maia taking on unbeaten Chris Weidman did a 2.3/4. The next fight between middleweight contender Chael Sonnen battling British star Michael Bisping grew to a 2.9/5. Fans tuned in to see former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans take on undefeated former national champion wrestler Phil Davis with that bout posting a 3.4/6. The fight went all five rounds and Evans defeated Davis by unanimous decision.
The top five metered markets for Saturday’s UFC on FOX event are: Las Vegas – 4.1/8; Louisville – 4.1/7; Indianapolis – 3.9/7; Greenville – 3.9/6; Tulsa – 3.9/6; and Knoxville – 3.9/6. Other markets of interest: New York – 2.2/4; Los Angeles – 2.3/5; and host city Chicago – 2.8/5.
Payout Perspective:
The numbers are off from the first Fox event in November when those numbers totaled a 3.1 rating with 5.7 million viewers with a peak of 8.8 million viewers. Its unlikely that we’ll see that high of a peak here. The West Coast tape delay and overrun may help with the final tally for the ratings. UFC on Fox 1 was only 1 hour and was more of a novelty for the casual viewer. We shall see what the final results are for the UFC’s second time on the network. Unfortunately, not a lot of action to cheer for on the network show as the three fights wouldn’t appeal to someone watching MMA for the first time. It will be interesting how the UFC will work to ensure exciting fights next time out.
UFC on FX 1: 1.3 million viewers
January 23, 2012
MMA Junkie reports that the UFC on FX’s debut scored 1.3 million viewers on Friday night. The prelim bouts on Fuel, which preceded the FX show, received 148,000 viewers.
In comparison, Spike TV ran UFC counterprogramming at the same time as UFC on FX which garnered an average of 700,000 viewers.
According to MMA Junkie the ratings for UFC on FX received a 1.19 average among men 18-49 and a 1.21 for men 18-34.
Payout Perspective:
If you look at it with the glass half full, there were a lot of UFC fans watching its product Friday night. But, its with the UFC’s current tv partner we are concerned with here. The numbers are lower for FX right now in comparison to recent Spike TV live programming. This may be unfair to compare considering that the UFC is in its infancy stages of its new TV deal and we have a quirky situation with Spike maintaining the UFC library. There is the other argument that the switch from Friday to Saturday may be an issue. However, this spring Friday night will be the night for MMA as Bellator sets up shop on Fridays opposite the UFC on two channels.
Based on its low attendance and gate, the ratings fall in line with the fact that this event fell victim to being an event in the midst of a blitz of bigger UFC events. We shall see how Fox markets its product on FX to ensure more viewers are directed to its Friday live events.
“UFC Tonight” draws 61,000 viewers on Fuel TV
January 20, 2012
MMA Junkie reports that UFC Tonight on Fuel TV drew an average of 61,000 viewers on Tuesday night. It triples the viewership of the show from last week.
UFC Tonight, the UFC’s news magazine show, debuted January 3rd with a 39,000 viewer average. Last week’s edition scored a low of 20,000 viewers.
Via MMA Junkie:
In 2011, FUEL TV was cable’s lowest-rated channel. However, thanks largely to the UFC’s new partnership with the channel, which airs live fights and an array of other UFC programming, FUEL TV has expanded from a meager 30 million U.S. homes to approximately 36 million in just a matter of months. (By comparison, the UFC’s former longtime home, Spike TV, is available in approximately 100 million.)
While the growth process has proved problematic for some hardcore UFC fans who don’t have FUEL TV in their programming lineup, the cable channel has seen an immediate impact in its viewership. According to FUEL TV officials, the channel has seen a 56 percent gain in total viewers over the first two weeks of 2011 and a 75 percent increase in viewers in the coveted male 18-49 demographic.
Payout Perspective:
The spike (no pun intended) in ratings is a good sign that fans are finding the show. As we’ve indicated here before, there will be some growing pains with the new Fox platforms as fans get used to the new channel. It will be interesting to see if the ratings continue to rise, remain steady, or fluctuate depending on the events and subjects covered by the show.
UFC 142 Prelims on FX: 880,000 viewers
January 18, 2012
MMA Junkie reports that FX’s first prelim show for UFC 142 scored 880,000 viewers. According to MMA Junkie, the viewership number is smaller than any of the “UFC Prelims” on Spike TV but beats out all three specials aired on ION Television.
As MMA Supremacy points out, “UFC Prelims” never dipped under 1 million viewers when it aired on Spike TV.
Payout Perspective:
While the numbers may seem disappointing, there appears to be room to grow. The NFL Playoffs probably didn’t help with the rating either as the prelims competed with Tebowmania. Despite the New England blowout, the NFL (and Tebow) held a huge audience – 34.2 million viewers. We will have to wait to see how the Prelims would do without such stiff opposition.
MTV’s “Caged” draws disappointing ratings
January 13, 2012
Variey reports that MTV’s “MMA” reality show “Caged” drew poor ratings in its debut. The show drew 619,000 viewers and only a 0.64 rating in the targeted 12-34 demographic.
The series features young, small town males trying to make it in the local MMA promotion. Unbeknownst to the MMA fan hoping to watch young, up and comers trying to make it up the ladder, many of the main characters are self-trained and are only looking to party and score girls. While the partying and girl problems may be an inherent part (for some) of being a young athlete, the series fell short on MMA.
Payout Perspective:
The debut did run opposite the BCS National Championship Game so that might be a reason for the lower than expected ratings. However, after seeing the first episode, many fans hoping to see an MMA reality show may not tune in again. The 10 episode run caters to a certain MTV reality audience interested in shows like “Teen Mom,” “Jersey Shore” and “The Theriot Family.” “Caged” served as the intro to “Shore” and “Theriot” on Monday night. While MMA fans were enticed by the MMA marketing, it was a disappointment.
Fuel TV Boasts Ratings for New Year’s Day UFC Marathon & “UFC Tonight” Debut
January 6, 2012
Fuel TV officially kicked off the new year by airing a 24-hour UFC marathon on New Years Day, followed by airing the debut of “UFC Tonight” on January 3rd.
The rating’s boost received by UFC programming was a much needed one for Fuel TV, as it embarks on a mission to increase it’s household reach, mostly through the demand generated from the UFC’s fanbase.
From Multichannel:
Fuel TV’s New Year’s Day 24-hour marathon of UFC programming helped the network generate its highest watched primetime block ever, said network officials.
The UFC programming — part of a seven-year deal between the mixed martial arts outfit and Fuel TV owner Fox Sports– also generated the second most watched day in network history, with the network’s total day average up +378% vs. the January 2011 Sunday average, according to Fuel Tv officials.
Fuel TV had its highest-watched Primetime night ever, up +493% vs. the 2011 Sunday average. The top show of the day was UFC Bad Blood at 7:00 p.m. ET. It was the fourth most-watched show on Fuel TV among Households since the network became nationally rated.
MMAJunkie has the ratings for the “UFC Tonight” debut on Fuel TV:
This week’s series debut of “UFC Tonight” earned 39,000 viewers on FUEL TV, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed with industry sources.
That’s nearly three times FUEL TV’s usual audience size, which averaged approximately 15,000 viewers in 2011.
…Still, FUEL TV remains a premium-subscription option on many cable platforms, and officials face an uphill battle in expanding the channel’s reach. A well-produced “Countdown to UFC 141″ special, for example, garnered just 15,000 viewers for its debut and 1,000 viewers for a subsequent replay – despite the Dec. 30 event being one of the UFC’s biggest shows of 2011.
Payout Perspective:
It’s a step in the right direction for both the UFC and Fuel TV, but it’s apparent that this partnership will need to blossom within the next few years in order to benefit the UFC. The end game for Fuel TV is to get the UFC and MMA fanbase to pressure cable/satellite providers to carry Fuel TV in order to continue increasing the reach of the lowest rated cable network in 2011.
The next key date for Fuel TV will be February 15, when UFC on Fuel TV makes it’s debut from the 10,000-seat capacity Omaha Civic Auditorium in Nebraska. Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger are set as the main event while Dave Herman and Stefan Struve will meet in the night’s co-main event .
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Notes from the press releases:
- NYE UFC Marathon: Generated the second most watched day in network history, with the network’s total day average up +378% vs. the January 2011 Sunday average.
- NYE UFC Marathon: Fuel TV had its highest-watched Primetime night ever, up +493% vs. the 2011 Sunday average.
- NYE UFC Marathon: The top show of the day was UFC Bad Blood at 7:00 p.m. ET. It was the fourth most-watched show on Fuel TV among Households since the network became nationally rated.
- “UFC Tonight” Debut: The debut of “UFC Tonight” garnered 39,000 viewers on FUEL TV, nearly three times FUEL TV’s usual audience size, which averaged approximately 15,000 viewers in 2011.
- “Countdown to UFC 141″ special: Garnered just 15,000 viewers for its debut and 1,000 viewers for a subsequent replay – despite UFC 141 being one of the UFC’s biggest shows of 2011.
UFC 141 Prelims: 1.8 million viewers
January 4, 2012
MMA Weekly reports that the UFC 141 Prelims garnered an average of 1.8 million viewers in its last live showing on Spike TV. Overall, the UFC Prelims averaged 1.41 million viewers on Spike TV.
UFC 141 was the highest rated prelim show on Spike TV since UFC 126 when it received 2.0 million viewers.
Payout Perspective:
A very good ending to what has been a tumultuous relationship the past year. The ratings are very good considering the change in days. Perhaps pushing back the PPV time, and the prelim time, also helped with the good ratings. The Brock Lesnar factor may have assisted as well.
UFC 141: Payout Perspective
January 3, 2012
Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This time we look at a special Friday night event from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada which featured Brock Lesnar versus Alistair Overeem.
Overeem kicks Lesnar into retirement
There’s a reason why Lesnar went off as the underdog in Vegas. It was uncertain how Lesnar would do considering he came back from diverticulitis once again. The fight was a no contest for Overeem as one kick to the gut and Lesnar was done for the night.
Classy speech by Lesnar at the end of the fight. It was the right thing to do as his last two fights have been very disappointing. For Overeem, JDS is next in what should be one of the bigger cards of 2012.
Diaz boxes out Cowboy
A lot of trash talk before made this co-main event something to watch. Indeed it was the most interesting match of the night. Diaz used the “stockton slap” as the Cowboy just stood in front of him in the first round. Cerrone used some leg sweeps to score some points but did little actual damage to Diaz.
An impressive outing for Diaz as he’s moving up in the lightweight division albeit he came in at 157 pounds.
Hendricks knocks out Fitch
Johnny Hendricks left hand was lethal as he flirted with the UFC’s fastest KO record with a knockout of Jon Fitch. A disappointing end for Fitch who was coming back from shoulder surgery. The stoppage was warranted as Fitch went limp and Hendricks was right on top to deliver more punishment if he the fight wasn’t stop.
Hendricks puts himself in line for a title shot. He’s not in the express line to a shot but is definitely someone that should be taking a step forward in the next year.
Attendance and Gate
MMA Junkie reports that UFC 141 drew a reported 12,158 fans for a reported $3.1 million gate. The figures, as custom, were given by Dana White at the post-fight press conference. The numbers fall well short of the top 5 draws in MGM Grand history but it did much better than last year’s UFC 125.
Bonuses
The bonuses were $75,000 each and went to Johnny Hendricks, Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone. Hendricks was the obvious choice for KO of the night while Diaz and Cerrone earned fight of the night honors. There were no submissions so no sub of the night.
Countdown to UFC 141 debuted on Fuel TV a week before the event and garnered a poor 15,000 viewers. Hopefully, the January 1st UFC marathon helped with marketing of the network as the new place for the UFC.
Salaries were released earlier than normal by the Nevada State Athletic Commission because lawyers for Golden Glory obtained an order to garnish the salary of Alistair Overeem. Of no surprise, Brock Lesnar topped the list. Overeem was set to earn $385K but was asked to garnish roughly 30%. However, it was revealed Monday that no bond was posted to garnish the salary as required by Nevada law. So, Overeem was able to receive all of his earnings. This will make the litigation between Overeem and Golden Glory much more contentious.
Sponsorships
Clothing brand RYU and wireless service provider MetroPCS became sponsors of the UFC this month. RYU was a sponsor to the “backstage camera” and MetroPCS had signage in the Octagon. RYU also sponsored Jon Fitch. Unfortunately for Fitch, the RYU walkout shirt was seen much more than on his shorts as the fight lasted just 12 seconds.
With the addition of MetroPCS and Gina Carano’s new movie, “Haywire,” the regular sponsors (SafeAuto, TapouT, Harley Davidson, Toyo Tires, Bud Light) were in the Octagon. Speaking of Haywire, Carano was in attendance and was interviewed about the movie.
Harley Davidson pumped up its Hometown Throwdown contest again.
MusclePharm had a special graphic shown during the tale of the tape before Overeem and Lesnar.
The Cowboy has used his hat to put sponsors on each side of the hat in the past and now he’s used under the brim. Way to use the real estate. Maybe that’s why he got so upset that Diaz flicked it off his head.
Jimy Hettes had sponsors AzadWatch.com and Palooka.com as sponsors. I noticed these two sponsors since they were on the back of his fight shorts and maintained dominant position on Nam Pham most of their match. Good placement for the two sponsors.
It was announced prior to UFC 141, that Lesnar signed an endorsement deal with Everlast. I wonder what impact his retirement will have on the deal?
Post-UFC 141 Headlines
Lesnar retires, what now?
With the retirement of Brock Lesnar, the UFC lost its top PPV draw. A Lesnar card meant 1 million PPV buys was a certainty. With his departure, and the absence of GSP for most of the year and Anderson Silva out until at least June, the UFC is in a precarious PPV position as its lost its top three stars for the first half of 2012. Jon Jones could be the next PPV breakout star.
But, perhaps as when teams go without its star, it makes the rest of the team stronger and better. This can be a time that the UFC can build up its existing stars (Jones, Edgar, Diaz). Of course, Rashad Evans is another top PPV draw but will be on the Fox broadcast on January 28th. His next fight (fingers crossed) will likely be the long-awaited bout with Jon Jones sometime this summer (maybe Memorial Day weekend). What will the PPV buys look like in the first half of the year?
Young fighters impress
Jimy Hettes and Alexander Gustafsson made statements in their fights on the main card of the PPV. Hettes was impressive in his fight with Nam Phan and Gustafsson took care of the Vladimir Matyushenko. Both of these guys look to be moving up the ranks of their respective divisions.
Odds and ends
-Why no Joe Rogan post-fight interview for Jimy Hettes? He deserved some mic time.
-After Diaz flipped Cerrone’s cowboy hat earlier in the week, Diaz gave Cerrone his beanie after their fight. It looked like Diaz wanted Cerrone to give him his cowboy hat kind of like an exchange of opponent jerseys in soccer.
-The last live event on Spike occurred with little or no mention that the UFC-Spike relationship was ending. Of course, if you are Spike, you are still showing the UFC library so why mention it.
-I was in Canada last week and noticed Rogers giving a top 5 of Lesnar’s greatest fights. It was interesting to me that the number 1 moment was his win over Frank Mir and they showed his infamous rant after the fight (“going to have a Coors Light because Bud doesn’t pay me” and “get on his wife” comments). That’s something they would not play in the US anymore.
PPV issues
This was the first time that XBox users could purchase a UFC events through its XBox Live platform. As a promotion for this, XBox gave away 30,000 free PPV passes to watch the event. Unfortunately, technical difficulties destroyed the opportunity for anyone to access the UFC on XBox. To make amends, the UFC promised all that purchased the event on XBox, it would be able to see another UFC event for free. The problem with this, is that consumers are now weary of this method of watching the PPV and less likely to use this platform. We see that there are some glitches in the system and the UFC must fix them, restore trust and address this PR problem as well.
In addition to the XBox problem, I received notice that Rogers in Ontario, Canada had technical difficulties as well. People that purchased the PPV were refunded money as the cable operator acknowledged the problems.
These problems do not bode well for the overall viewership of the PPV. Even with Lesnar at the top of the card, the final number could have been better but for these issues.
Countdown to UFC 141: 15,000 viewers
December 27, 2011
MMA Junkie reports that UFC 141 Countdown garnered just 15,000 viewers on FUEL TV. A replay of the show the same night at 1am ET/10pm PT garnered a dismal 1,000 viewers.
The 15,000 viewers received a 0.03 household rating rating among men 18-49 and a 0.0 among men 18-34.
UFC 141 aired the week of Christmas and one week before the event. It primarily focused on Alistair Overeem, Brock Lesnar, Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone.
The disparity in the number of homes that receives Fuel may be an ongoing issue as Spike, Countdown’s old home, is in 100 million homes while Fuel is in only 36 million.
Payout Perspective:
Dismal ratings for a pretty good Countdown show which did a good job in introducing the casual viewer to Alistair Overeem. However, the holidays, the early showing of the show and its new spot on Fuel Television may have contributed to such low ratings. We’ll see in 2012 how the UFC and Fox deal with this issue if the low ratings persist.
