TUF 11 Finale: 1.4 HH
June 23, 2010
MMAPayout.com has learned that the TUF 11 Finale on Spike TV drew a 1.4 HH rating on the strength of 2 million average viewers over its three hour broadcast on Saturday night. However, the show peaked at 2.4 million viewers for the main event that saw Court McGee defeat Kris McCray.
The program also garnered a 2.3 in the M18-34 and 1.8 in the M18-49 demographics.
Payout Perspective:
The broadcast is probably a poor result when you compare it to previous TUF Finale events; the 1.4 HH is the lowest TUF Finale rating since Season 4 did a 1.1 HH (the season that Serra and Lutter won title shots).
I think this is ultimately a reflection of the quality of the fight card. Interesting fights will bring a crowd. No disrespect to McGee vs. McCray or Hamill vs. Jardine, but neither was a fight that anyone had a great deal of interest in seeing. This is especially true when you consider that the last Spike card featured Florian vs. Gomi and the next free television card (on Versus) will feature Jon Jones vs. Vlady Matyushenko. There’s a huge discrepancy there.
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Where does the UFC go from here? It would seem that more of the status quo is in order:
- Two big name coaches: Team St-Pierre vs. Team Koscheck
- No big format change: the talk within the industry is that it’s more or less the same format (nothing drastic)
- Same promises: once again, officials are already leaking bits of news that it’s “the most exciting TUF ever”.
I’d obviously like to see them make a change. I tend to side with being proactive rather than reactive, but I’m not sure it’s that simple, either. If the company is planning to leverage TUF as a component of its international expansion strategy, then it can’t very well change the entire format right now.
With that said, I do think that each show is going to require some tinkering to fit in with its local market. Some of the crap that happened on the show in the US won’t fly in the UAE and China – or even markets like Australia.
TUF 11 Payouts: $406,000
June 22, 2010
The Staff at MMAJunkie.com are reporting that the total fighter payouts for The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale came to $406,000. Also note that the attendance and gate for the event have been reported at 1,708 and $430,250.
Court McGee: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Kris McCray: $8,000
Matt Hamill: $52,000 ($26,000 win bonus) def. Keith Jardine: $55,000
Chris Leben: $70,000 ($35,000 win bonus) def. Aaron Simpson: $13,000
Dennis Siver: $34,000 ($17,000 win bonus) def. Spencer Fisher: $26,000
Rich Attonito: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Jamie Yager: $8,000
John Gunderson: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus) def. Mark Holst: $6,000
Brad Tavares: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Seth Baczynski: $8,000
Kyle Noke: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Josh Bryant: $8,000
Chris Camozzi: $16,000 ($8000 win bonus) def. James Hammortree: $8,000
Travis Browne: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus) def. James McSweeney: $8,000
TOTAL: $406,000
Bonus Awards:
Fight of the Night: Matt Hamill vs. Keith Jardine ($25,000 each)
KO of the Night: Chris Leben ($25,000)
Submission of the Night: Court McGee ($25,000)
Payout Perspective:
It wasn’t long ago that these events were paying $150,000 and the majority of it went to the headliners, but here we see that Hamill and Jardine received just 25% of the overall payout (granted, Leben made 70k). Additionally, no fighter made less than $6,000 in base and that’s twice as much as what the minimum used to be for some shows.
None of this factors in potential discretionary bonus pay or sponsorship money (which should, in part, be attributed to the UFC given that companies are usually sponsoring fighters to gain access to the UFC audience).
However, it’s also fair to say that fighter pay still has a way to go before every fighter is making a comfortable living. I question whether market forces will ever truly allow this to happen, but I also think the bottom pay for fighters has room to grow even under said market conditions.
TUF 11, Episode 11: 1.24 HH
June 10, 2010
MMAPayout.com has learned that Spike’s final episode of the Ultimate Fighter Season 11 earned a 1.24 HH on the strength of an average audience of 1.6 million viewers on Wednesday night. The special two-hour broadcast also earned a 2.0 in the M18-34 and 1.7 in M18-49.
Quarterlies: 1.09, 1.01, 1.08, 1.24, 1.32, 1.42, 1.37, 1.43
Payout Perspective:
The final ratings are in and Season 11 ranks 5th on the series list in terms of overall HH ratings with a 1.27; which is a decent up-tick from what the series was doing prior to TUF 10. Although, it remains to be seen whether this year’s show experienced a bump due to TUF 10 or whether the mild renewal of interest is a sign of the UFC’s success in the larger sports landscape.
Here’s a final look at the numbers:
| TUF 11 | Overall | M18-34 | M18-49 |
| Episode 1 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| Episode 2 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 1.54 |
| Episode 3 | 1.3 | 1.63 | 1.53 |
| Episode 4 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
| Episode 5 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 1.92 |
| Episode 6 | 1.3 | 1.54 | 1.4 |
| Episode 7 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| Episode 8 | 1 | 1.54 | 1.2 |
| Episode 9 | 1.1 | 1.53 | 1.33 |
| Episode 10 | 1.25 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
| Episode 11 | 1.24 | 2 | 1.7 |
| Season Ave. | 1.2718 | 1.894545 | 1.5836 |
| Season Med. | 1.3 | 1.9 | 1.54 |
| Season | Overall | % Change | M18-34 | % Change |
| 1 | 1.6 | 2.2 | ||
| 2 | 1.4 | -12.5% | 2.5 | 13.6% |
| 3 | 1.7 | 20.7% | 2.9 | 15.6% |
| 4 | 1.2 | -26.6% | 2 | -30.1% |
| 5 | 1.2 | -4.8% | 1.6 | -20.3% |
| 6 | 1.1 | -5.1% | 1.5 | -4.3% |
| 7* | 1.1 | 0.00% | 1.6 | 6.70% |
| 8 | 1.15 | 4.17% | 1.46 | -8.91% |
| 9 | 1.11 | -2.98% | 1.50 | 3.20% |
| 10 | 2.21 | 99.21% | 3.89 | 158.68% |
| 11 | 1.27 | -42.57% | 1.89 | -51.31% |
| Average | 1.3 | 2 |
This season wasn’t fantastic in terms of entertainment value – though it did have its moments – but I think the one true point for concern is that there doesn’t seem to be a bona fide star coming out of the show (nor has there been from the last few years). I wonder if the UFC might begin to channel some of these prospects it’s signing through the TUF program to give them a little more exposure and birth their star a little earlier; this as opposed to giving them a few fights on the under card of various PPVs.
Then again, the secondary purpose of TUF has always been to promote the fight between the coaches and that’s something the show has done pretty well with in the past. Next season’s contest between Team St-Pierre and Team Koscheck should fare no worse.
TUF 11, Episode 10: 1.25 HH Rating
June 4, 2010
MMAPayout.com has learned that the tenth episode of TUF 11 earned a 1.25 HH rating on the strength of 1.5 million viewers. As is typical, the show also fared well in the key demographics: 1.7 in the M18-34 and 1.4 in the M18-49
Quarterlies: 1.19, 1.31, 1.22, 1.3
Payout Perspective:
The season is averaging a 1.28 HH rating with a 1.88 in the M18-34 and 1.57 in the M18-49, which will slot it 5th in the series ranking behind TUF 10 and TUF 1-3.
TUF 11 & Primetime Ratings
May 28, 2010
MMAPayout.com has learned that episode nine of TUF 11 drew a 1.1 HH rating on the strength of 1.5 million viewers Wednesday night, which is an improvement from last week’s episode (season low 1.0). The broadcast also drew well in the M18-34 and M18-49 demographics with a 1.53 and 1.33, respectively.
Quarterlies: .99, 1.06, 1.05, 1.26
UFC Primetime: Rashad vs. Rampage aired its final episode the same night to an audience of 1.1 million viewers.
Payout Perspective:
The “firing” of Tito Ortiz was likely responsible for the up-tick in ratings for this week’s show and the way Spike cut the episodes leads me to believe they’ve left enough on next week’s episode to help it draw beyond the 1.0 mark as well.
Primetime delivered a very strong 1.1 million viewers in which the conversion from TUF was more than 73% (up from 67% in the previous two episodes). UFC 114 is gaining a great deal of momentum and is looking to be a stellar show for the company.
Rashad vs. Rampage, Episode 2: 875,000 Viewers
May 20, 2010
MMAPayout.com has learned that episode two of UFC Primetime: Rashad vs. Rampage generated 875,000 viewers, which is the fourth best rating in the now eight episodes of the series.
Payout Perspective:
The UFC has to be happy with these ratings – the exposure for the Rashad vs. Rampage fight is definitely going to help the sell. However, while an aggregate of over 2 million in two episodes is far and away better than the other shows have been able to do, neither of the other two Primetime series had the benefit of a lead-in from a TUF program. It’s good scheduling, but it’s also not hard to keep a large percentage of one million MMA fans when you’re following a program with fresh programming.
It makes sense that these numbers dipped by close to 25% from the first episode considering that TUF 11 lost 23% from last week to this week in its own viewing. That would suggest a conversion rate from TUF to Primetime of about 67%.
TUF 11, Episode 8: 1.0 HH Rating
May 20, 2010
MMAPayout.com has learned that the eighth episode of The Ultimate Fighter season 11 earned a 1.0HH rating on the basis of 1.3 million viewers on Wednesday night. The show earned a 1.54 in the M18-34 and a 1.2 in the M18-49.
Quarterly hours: .91, .92, 1.05, 1.02
Payout Perspective:
This was the 1.0 drop that I had anticipated coming a little earlier in the season; it’ll be interesting to see if the ratings bounce back. However, even if the show draws a 1.0 in the next three straight episodes it’ll still end up in the top-five TUF seasons in terms of HH rating averages.
TUF 11, Episode 7: 1.3HH
May 14, 2010
MMAPayout.com has learned that the seventh episode of TUF 11 earned a 1.3 HH rating on the strength of 1.8 million viewers; the broadcast also drew a 1.9 in the M18-34 and 1.7 in the M18-49 demographics.
Payout Perspective:
The ratings have leveled off at the 1.3 marking over the last 3-4 weeks and enough episodes have passed to suggest that 1.3 is likely where this show will end up in aggregate. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see an up-tick in interest on account of the Tito-Franklin angle in the next couple weeks.
The 1.3 average is materially higher than what the show did pre-Kimbo (TUF 10), which suggests that some of the new viewers he brought to last year’s season have stuck around for this one as well. His recent departure raised some eyebrows considering how big of a draw he was for the organization, but I’m reluctant to call the departure a bad move. In fact, I think it was probably the right time for him to be cut: the UFC gave him a shot, got what it wanted out of the deal, and was able to move on without hurting its credibility to any significant degree.
TUF 11, Episode 6: 1.3 HH Rating
May 7, 2010
MMAPayout.com has learned that the sixth episode of TUF 11 garnered a 1.3 HH rating on an average of 1.7 million viewers on Wednesday night. The show held steady in average viewers, it experienced a meaningful drop over the last episode in the M18-34 and M18-49 demographics; while still good the 1.54 in M18-34 and 1.4 in the M18-49 are down from the 2.6 and 1.92 of last week.
Quarter hours: 1.13, 1.22, 1.3, 1.41
Payout Perspective:
The show appears to be headed for a consistent 1.3 HH ratings average on the year as this is the third episode of the six in total to generate a 1.3 (or roughly 1.7 million viewers). If this trend continues to bear out, TUF 11 will sit 5th in the series’ ratings ranking.
Here’s the season to date:
| Overall | M18-34 | M18-49 | |
| Episode 1 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| Episode 2 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 1.54 |
| Episode 3 | 1.3 | 1.63 | 1.53 |
| Episode 4 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
| Episode 5 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 1.92 |
| Episode 6 | 1.3 | 1.54 | 1.4 |
| Episode 7 | |||
| Episode 8 | |||
| Episode 9 | |||
| Episode 10 | |||
| Episode 11 | |||
| Season Ave. | 1.35 | 2.0283 | 1.6817 |
| Season Med. | 1.3 | 2 | 1.67 |
MMAterial Facts (05/07/10): UFC 113 PPV Goes Mobile, Shine Fights On
May 7, 2010
- Shine Fights Dismisses Threat of Don King Legal Action Against Ricardo Mayorga
- UFC to Offer UFC 113 PPV to FLO TV Mobile Devices
- M-1 Global, Strikeforce come to terms; Emelianenko vs. Werdum set for June 26
- Zuffa Files Suit for ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ Domain Name TV census ad
- “TUF Canada” targeted for 2011; UFC seeks TV deals in China, India, South Korea
Shine Fights Dismisses Threat of Don King Legal Action Against Ricardo Mayorga
Despite demands from Don King Productions to “cease and desist” promoting Ricardo Mayorga, Shine Fights Promotions CEO Devin Price is assuring fight fans that the May 15th MMA event “WORLDS COLLIDE: MAYORGA VS. THOMAS” will go forward “without a doubt.” Price also added, “Shine Fights has a valid and exclusive promotional contract with Ricardo Mayorga for mixed martial arts. We are pleased to offer both MMA fans and boxing fans a great night of MMA action on Saturday, May 15th.”
“When we announced this fight I said that we think Mayorga’s fans are just that, his fans, and that they will follow him to MMA,” said Price. “Our target is to convert many boxing fans into fans of both sports.” (PRESS RELEASE)
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Don King Productions issues Cease and Desist
Don King Productions has a valid promotional contract granting the right of exclusive representation of Ricardo Mayorga and has advised Shine Fight Promotions accordingly.
Shine Fight Promotions’ conduct constitutes tortious interference with Don King Productions’ agreement with Ricardo Mayorga, and Don King Productions has requested they immediately cease and desist promoting Ricardo Mayorga at one of their events to avoid the need for legal action in this matter. (Max Boxing)
UFC to Offer UFC 113 PPV to FLO TV Mobile Devices
Purchase UFC Machida vs. Shogun 2 for $44.99. Watch the action live May 8 on your FLO TV Personal Television or FLO TV Auto Entertainment System. Tune in starting at 6:30pm pst. Don’t miss light heavyweight champion Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida and challenger Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua settle the score. (FLO TV)
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Twitter Updates from UFC and FLO TV:
@UFC : Have you guys seen FLO TV? Live programming on a TV the size of an iPhone. Watch UFC 113 on the go Saturday night! http://www.flo.tv/
@FLOTV : The UFC promo channel airs this week on FLO TV. MMA fans can check out previews for upcoming UFC 113 : Machida vs. Shogun 2. #ufc
M-1 Global, Strikeforce come to terms; Emelianenko vs. Werdum set for June 26
After months of anticipation, the world’s No. 1 heavyweight and pound-for-pound Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter, Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (31-1), will make his eagerly awaited return to the cage to face two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and top-ranked superstar Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum (13-4) in a STRIKEFORCE and M-1 GLOBAL co-promoted event at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. on Saturday, June 26, live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
The Fedor-Werdum match will headline an event which will feature up to five televised fights on SHOWTIME and several non-televised undercard bouts that will be announced in the coming weeks.
A special pre-sale ticket purchase opportunity for the event will take place for “STRIKEFORCE Insider” e-newsletter subscribers (http://strikeforce.com/insider.html) from 10 a.m. PT Monday, May 10, until 10 p.m. PT on Thursday, May 13. Insiders will receive an e-newsletter with the pre-sale code.
Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. PT on Friday, May 14, at the HP Pavilion box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com) as well as www.strikeforce.com. For more information, please also visit www.M-1GLOBAL.com.
For M-1 GLOBAL’s Fedor, it is a means of gaining revenge three and a half years after the 32-year-old Werdum defeated Fedor’s brother Aleksander Emelianenko, via submission (arm triangle choke) in the first round (3:24) of a bout in Rotterdam, Holland, on Nov. 12, 2006. (PRESS RELEASE)
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MMAPayout Rumored 6/26 Strikeforce – Fedor vs Werdum Event:
Fedor Emelienenko (31-1) vs Fabricio Werdum (13-4)
Cung Le (6-1) vs Scott Smith (17-6)
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (9-1) vs TBA
Luke Rockhold (7-1) vs TBA
Zuffa Files Suit for ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ Domain Name TV census ad
Dana White has made it no secret over the past several months that the UFC intends to use “The Ultimate Fighter” series and online distribution to fuel the growth of the UFC’s brand around the globe.
“We’re trying to get these television deals in all these countries, major TV deals exposing the fans to it, then you bring a live event to those places,” White said at a recent news conference. “Then the virus spreads and people start training at it, trying to make a living at it, eventually becoming professional athletes. That’s what we’re going to do over the next 10 years.”
The recent acquisition of UltimateFighter.com and the legal efforts to obtain TheUltimateFighter.com appear to be part of the UFC’s plan for international growth.
Anton Resnick, the domain name’s registrant, expressed complete surprise that a suit had been filed when contacted by Sherdog.com.
“I’m not at all aware of the suit,” said Resnick. (Sherdog) … (MMAPayout Perspective)
“TUF Canada” targeted for 2011; UFC seeks TV deals in China, India, South Korea
In fact, White said an international version of “The Ultimate Fighter” may focus on Canadian athletes as soon as 2011, and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta will soon set out across the globe with the intention of netting TV deals in China, India and South Korea.
“Our model is you go in with television – the right television – and then you bring the live event,” White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “After this fight, Lorenzo is going to get on a plane, and he’s going to be gone for 14 days. He’s going to China, India and South Korea. Those are the three countries we’re focused on next. (MMAJunkie)
QUICK HITS
- Alvarez Subs Neer, Curran Decisions Huerta (Sherdog)
- Bellator 17 recap: Curran shocks Huerta, meets Imada in lightweight final (MMAJunkie)
- Strikeforce champ Cristiane “Cyborg” moved to June 26 “Fedor vs. Werdum” event (MMAJunkie)
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Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter 11″ draws 1.7 million viewers for episode No. 6 (MMAJunkie)
- Dana White: UFC 113′s Paul Daley vs. Josh Koscheck winner gets title shot (MMAJunkie)
- Kevin Randleman good to go for May 15 Strikeforce fight with Roger Gracie (MMAJunkie)
- PVT Mag Analyzes Anderson Silva (Sherdog)
- Bellator Books Fujii for June 10 Event (Sherdog)
- Dana White Discusses His Relationship With Machida, Kimbo Slice’s Future (MMAFighting)
- DREAM EP Keiichi Sasahara on Shinya Aoki, the Cage and Future of DREAM (MMAFighting)
- BELLATOR ADDS ULYSSES GOMEZ TO 135 LBS TOURNEY (MMAWeekly)
- UFC 113 PREFIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE PHOTOS (MMAWeekly)
- MMA Moms, Part I: The women behind the fighters (Yahoo! Sports)
- UFC 113 Pre-Fight Press Conference Highlights (Heavy)
- Win VIP Tickets To Strikeforce With Backstage Fighter Meet And Greet (Heavy)
TV LISTINGS
- HDNet Fights Vault: Head Kick KO’s at 8 PM ET on HDNet (05/07/10)
- Fighting Words with Mike Straka (feat. John McCarthy) at 8:30 PM ET on HDNet (05/07/10)
- InsideMMA (Stephen Bonnar, Jens Pulver, Reed Harris) at 9 PM ET on HDNet(05/07/10)
- HDNet Fights: MFC Vindication at 10 PM ET on HDNet (05/07/10)
- UFC 113 : Machida vs Shogun 2 at 10 PM ET on PPV (05/08/10)
UPCOMING EVENTS
- HDNet Fights: MFC Vindication at 10 PM ET on HDNet (05/07/10)
- UFC 113 : Machida vs Shogun 2 at 10 PM ET on PPV (05/08/10)
- Bellator Fighting Championships XVIII at 7:30 PM ET on FSN(05/13/10)
- Strikeforce St. Louis: Overeem vs Rogers at 10 PM ET/PT on Showtime(05/15/10)
- Bellator Fighting Championships XIX at 7:30 PM ET on FSN(05/20/10)
- UFC 114 : Rampage vs Evans at 10 PM ET on PPV (05/29/10)
