UFC 143: Payout Perspective
February 5, 2012
Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This week we take a look at UFC 143 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada where Nick Diaz took on Carlos Condit for the interim welterweight belt.
Condit frustrates Diaz for interim belt
We saw the Stockton Slap but Carlos Condit executed his game plan to perfection in eluding Diaz’s boxing skills and a last round submission attempt to win the interim title. The bout was reminiscent of Frankie Edgar versus BJ Penn at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. In that one, Edgar executed a game plan to perfection that by Round 5 you knew that the favorite was in trouble. Same here with Condit.
For Condit, a date with GSP is in the future. Despite his post-fight interview where he quit MMA, Diaz will likely be back and a Josh Koscheck fight seems about right. Even in defeat, a Nick Diaz post-fight interview is always entertaining.
Werdum outlasts Big Country
A solid debut for Fabricio Werdum who edged out Roy Nelson in a battle of BJJ black belts. A very good fight that won Fight of the Night honors. Werdum may not be ready for the top tier of this division but maybe a couple more impressive victories could earn him a return bout against Junior dos Santos.
Koscheck defeats Pierce
A closer bout than most thought. Arguably, Pierce could claim he should have won. Not sure why Josh Koscheck is such a hated man but Nick Diaz is gaining fans for being about as bad. Of course, Koscheck’s post-fight “salute” to the fans won’t help his plea for fans.
Attendance and gate
MMA Junkie reports that UFC 143 drew 10,040 fans for a gate of $2.3 million.
Bonuses
MMA Junkie also reported the fight night bonuses for UFC 143. Each fighter received $65,000.
Fight of the Night: Fabricio Werdum versus Roy Nelson
Submission of the Night: Dustin Poirer
KO of the Night: Stephen Thompson
Poirer and Thompson were the clear cut winners for their divisions as Poirer had an impressive submission and Thompson’s educated foot won him a KO.
Sponsors
The octagon included a couple new logos including the UFC’s new official corn nuts sponsor, Corn Nuts. Also, the History Channels’ new show, Full Metal Jousting. The show is from the producers of the Ultimate Fighter. It also included MetroPCS which also ran commercials during the prelims. In addition, UFC Undisputed 3 was featured as the UFC is pumping up the game for its release as you can purchase the game via GameStop. The Octagon also had its usual mainstays of Harley Davidson, Musclepharm, Tapout, Dodge and Bud Light.
The Corn Nuts sponsorship included a “corn”er cam. A nice play on words. It will be interesting to see what future activation plans it has with the UFC. MetroPCS also sponsored the Judge’s Call which occurred right before the judge’s decision.
The US Marines, as always, sponsored the Tale of the Tape for Koscheck-Pierce. RYU was also a featured sponsor although its signage was not featured.
Every time Josh Koscheck fights I’m reminded that Lugz is still around.
Roy Nelson was sponsored by the History Channel’s new show for his fight. Maybe it was fitting that his white shorts were stained with blood for “Full Metal Jousting.”
UFC Primetime
Good reviews for this set of shows. It was a little weird for the show to feature GSP’s rehab but this may have compensated for the lack of Diaz information. An interesting snippet from the last episode of Primetime: Nick Diaz didn’t know who was playing in the Super Bowl. We will try to update you with ratings if we can obtain them.
Post-UFC 143 Headlines
Condit versus GSP. Its not the matchup that most, including GSP, wanted. But we will see this fight sometime later this year. Perhaps, this is Montreal’s fight to have since its spring card was delayed. It should be a good battle although the UFC could have marketed a Diaz versus GSP fight easier. Nonetheless, the UFC could get Diaz versus Koshcheck which could get a lot of interest albeit not for a title.
What would Nick do? UFC Primetime got more out of Nick Diaz than most have seen. But, how likely would Diaz do another behind-the-scenes look after this loss. His disdain for any type of media coverage is evident. But, he’s a compelling figure that many have grown to like (or hate). Regardless of what fans think, he’s an asset for the UFC that they must manage.
Dustin Poirier may be the only hope for the 145 division against Jose Aldo. An impressive fight with some great jiu jitsu. We’ll see how he progresses.
Odds and Ends
- I liked the new intro to the PPVs. I’m wondering why they didn’t go with something like this earlier. Long live Gladiator Man.
- Good move by the UFC and Fox to go back to the weigh-ins without commentary. I think for those that tune in to watch them, they like to see and hear the whole thing rather than get analysis.
- What do you think Nick Diaz was saying to Lorenzo Fertitta right after the fight?
-Diaz said he was paid way too much for MMA in his post-fight in Octagon interview. I thought his complaint was that he wasn’t paid enough.
- It will be interesting to see the numbers for the UFC in 3D in theaters. Based on twitter, there were very positive reviews but we’ll have to see if that equates to good attendance.
- We saw the first commercials for TUF on FX.
- For those watching the Super Bowl, here’s the Kia ad with Chuck Liddell. He’s in the commercial briefly around the 1:00 minute mark.
Conclusion
A good night of fights but Diaz-Condit didn’t have the star power of GSP. The co-main events and undercard featured good match-ups but only for hardcore MMA fans. How many casual viewers knew Mike Pierce? It will be interesting to see how much the 3D in theater attendance takes away from the PPV buy rate. A buy rate above 250,000 should be considered a success.
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 on FX 1: gate, attendance and bonuses
January 21, 2012
MMA Junkie reports that UFC on FX 1 drew 7,728 fans for a gate of $334,860. The event took place Friday night at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
According to Junkie, a late sales and media push had most of the lower bowl in the 19,000 seat venue full. The last time the UFC held an event in the arena was in April 2009. That show, a UFC Fight Night, garnered 10,267 fans for a $626,077 gate.
In addition, the bonuses handed out were $45,000 each. Nick Denis, Jim Miller, Pat Barry, and Christian Morecraft all received the bonuses. Denis won for KO of the night, Miller won sub of the night and Barry and Morecraft earned Fight of the Night. There was some controversy for the FOTN choice, as many believed Jared Papazian and Mike Easton won that honor. Listening to his followers, Dana White tweeted that Papazian and Easton would “take care of” for their work Friday night. So, it sounds like another bonus may have been paid to Papazian and Easton.
Payout Perspective:
A decent event that was caught in between UFC 142 and the UFC’s next card on network TV. Thus, not too much buzz leading up to the Friday night event. The attendance reflects this fact but the figures fall in line with a UFC on Versus card. One would think more fans would come out since its been 2 plus years since the UFC visited Nashville. But, it might be the quality of the card that kept people from spending the money. It will be interesting to see the ratings for the event as it debuted on FX.
NBC Sports Network Fight Night debuts Saturday night
January 21, 2012
The Sports Business Journal reports on the return to the ring of NBC on the rebranded NBC Sports Network formerly known as Versus. Saturday night is the debut of “NBC Sports Network Fight Night,” which will appear quarterly in 2012 on the network.
NBCSN will work with Main Events as its promotional company to produce quality fights. It already has had an obstacle to overcome as its original main event was scrapped due to fighter injury. Main Events replaced the main event with a match between two unknown, but unbeaten heavyweights.
The pledge by Main Events is that it will put on competitive fights and will work with other promoters to achieve this goal.
According to boxing sources, rights fees will average $150,000 per show which, according to the SBJ, wil “fill a middle-class void that exists between ESPN and the premium cable networks.”
With the Comcast-NBC merger, past hurdles in developing fighters and having them move on to HBO, Showtime and PPV are no longer. Main Events CEO Kathy Duva told Sports Business Journal that if fighters leave for premium cable, Comcast still wins. Also, if fighters become PPV stars, Comcast wins too.
The two hour program will debut Saturday night at 6pmPT/9pmET. It will air from the old ECW Arena in Philadelphia.
GoDaddy.com has signed on as a sponsor for the show.
Payout Perspective:
It will be interesting to see how this show will be received. The Fight Night follows NBCSN’s strategy of live programming being central to its sports network. Its an interesting concept by Main Events and addresses a problem that is common in the boxing industry. As we’ve seen with Mayweather-Pacquiao, the problems of promoters working with each other prohibits good match-ups. We’ll see how the show will present compelling storylines and promote fighters.
“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.
HDNet to be Rebranded as AXS TV
January 18, 2012
Beginning Summer of 2012, HDNet will be rebranded as AXS TV, a joint venture between HDNet, AEG, Ryean Seacrest Media, and CAA Establish.
HDNet, AEG, Ryan Seacrest Media, and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) today announced a joint venture that will rebrand HDNet/HDNet Canada to launch AXS TV (pronounced: access). Scheduled to debut this summer, AXS TV will leverage the global reach and portfolio of content opportunities of its partners to create live entertainment and lifestyle programming. Capitalizing on AEG’s unrivaled presence in live events and affiliation with more than 100 of the industry’s pre-eminent venues worldwide, AXS TV will provide viewers with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to live concerts and music festivals, red carpet premieres, award shows, parties, pop culture events, and in-depth interviews with the people and artists who make live entertainment so uniquely fascinating.
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HDNet’s signature programming including HDNet Fights, Inside MMA, award-winning Dan Rather Reports, Sunday concert series, and select non-scripted series will continue on AXS TV.
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As part of their agreement with the joint venture, DISH will offer a variety of unique music services to their subscribers.
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“I’m incredibly excited to be in business with AEG, Ryan Seacrest, and CAA,” said Mark Cuban, Co-Founder and Chairman, HDNet. “This is a major step on our way to offering more live programming than any other entertainment and lifestyle network. And our partnership with DISH to offer unique subscriber services will allow AXS TV to change the value proposition between networks, distributors, and subscribers. AXS TV will unquestionably be able to leverage our unique assets to do things no other network will be able to replicate.”
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With production facilities at AEG’s owned and operated L.A. LIVE (which includes venues such as STAPLES Center, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, Club Nokia and The GRAMMY Museum’s Clive Davis Theater), as well as their access to their worldwide network of the busiest venues of all sizes, AXS TV will have the inside track to programming that will connect audiences with the complete live experience. From show creation and development to rehearsals, sound-check and performance and right thru the after-party, viewers will get an immersive look into their favorite acts touring today, AXS TV will span the globe to bring viewers the best live entertainment events.
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AEG is very pleased to be involved with Mark Cuban and HDNet and equally as proud to have partners like Ryan Seacrest Media and CAA,” said Timothy J. Leiweke, President & CEO, AEG. “The live business continues to grow and expand and the ability to give fans the opportunity to experience live in a different way is something we have been looking for a way to do for years.”
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“As part of a point of emanation for content, we are excited to provide the resources of L.A. LIVE, the O2 and our London campus among the many assets we are bringing into the partnership. In addition, we are excited that AXS TV will have a host studio at L.A. LIVE. This is a natural tie-in for our ticketing platform, axs Ticketing, as well as our facilities around the world.
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This is a platform for all agents, all promoters and all managers. It is not the creation of an AEG channel. It is about the fans and bringing the live experience to them,” Leiweke added.
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Representatives of the joint venture also announced that DISH, the nation’s third largest pay-TV provider, has agreed to expand its carriage of the rebranded HDNet by offering it in the America’s Top 120 programming package, bringing millions more DISH customers access to the rebranded channel and resulting in AXS TV reaching well over 35 million North American households.
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In addition to the increased distribution of the re-branded network, DISH will begin offering a large selection of AXS-branded Video On Demand concerts starting on March 15, 2012. Capitalizing on AEG’s unrivaled presence in the promotion of live events and nationwide network of clubs, DISH will work with AEG to offer unique ticketing opportunities for DISH viewers of AXS TV. Amenities include special ticketing opportunities, premium seating, private viewing areas and food & beverage specials. Starting August 1, 2012, DISH and AXS TV will launch AXS Headliner Club, an online audition site providing local bands and musicians the opportunity to audition to perform at an AEG-affiliated club or theater.
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“AXS TV brings DISH subscribers a premier TV destination for concert-goers to watch the most popular concert acts and provide opportunities for unique ticket sales at venues near them,” said Joe Clayton, CEO, DISH. “The new DISH is all about ‘more music, more movies, and more magic.’ So, we’re pleased to provide a majority of our subscribers front row seats to this innovative channel.”
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AXS TV will continue to be available on HDNet’s existing distributors including DIRECTV, Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, Charter, NCTC-member systems, Suddenlink and Shaw (in Canada).
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Ryan Seacrest Media holds an ownership stake in AXS TV, and will provide access to multi-media platforms, and celebrity and brand relationships, as well as assist in the corporate brand development for AXS TV. As part of the deal, Ryan Seacrest Productions, an independent entertainment production company, will also develop and produce programming for AXS TV.
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“Over the last year, we’ve been diligently working with our partners AEG and CAA to strategize and explore how we could deliver quality live entertainment and lifestyle programming to a large audience. HDNet is the perfect partner to help us translate our vision into a reality, giving us an instant reach into 35 million homes when we rebrand the channel and launch AXS TV,” said Ryan Seacrest. “Mark Cuban and Tim Leiweke bring a tremendous amount of entrepreneurial experience and spirit to this venture, and I’m confident our collective collaboration will make AXS a success,” he added.
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CAA will access its extensive experience, expertise, and relationships in entertainment to help create valuable content relationships for the network and provide strategic advisory services in the areas of corporate development, marketing, technology, and brand integration and sponsorship, among others. Seacrest is represented by CAA.
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“We have worked closely with AEG and Ryan Seacrest to conceptualize a new network that could benefit from our combined resources and create a new distribution opportunity for artists and content creators and their high-quality entertainment and lifestyle programming,” said David O’Connor, Managing Partner, CAA. “Mark Cuban and his HDNet make a terrific partner for this venture, and we look forward to joining forces to help build AXS into a premier cable destination for entertainment enthusiasts.”
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Financial terms of the new venture were not disclosed.
Payout Perspective:
According to the press release, HDNet’s current signature programming – which includes MMA content such as HDNet Fights and Inside MMA – will continue to air on AXS TV. The rebranded channel will leverage the global reach and portfolio of content of its partners to focus on live entertainment and lifestyle programming. The the initial plan for AXS TV is to focus on live entertainment and event programming, which include MMA, concerts, and movies.
A key to this deal appears to be DISH’s agreement to expand it’s carriage of AXS TV (HDNet) by offering it in the America’s Top 120 programming package and On Demand capabilities, giving more access to millions of DISH customers, which will increase the reach of the channel to 35 million by the Summer. AXS TV will be available to DirecTV, Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, Charter, NCTC-member systems, Suddenlink and Shaw (in Canada), which are the current HDNet carriers.
WWE head nixes Punk-Sonnen entrance
January 16, 2012
MMA Fighting reports that Vince McMahon has nixed the idea of CM Punk walking out with Chael Sonnen before his fight at UFC on Fox 2 in Chicago. The original announcement of the du0 walking out came out earlier this month.
Punk, a Chicago native, would have drawn some extra cheers for Sonnen in his fight with Mark Munoz.
Payout Perspective:
This is the best for the UFC. There are no crossover issues to worry about and the casual viewer won’t associate pro wrestling with MMA. The WWE probably feels the same. As a brand, it does not need to associate itself with the UFC. Also, since the WWE’s biggest program, RAW, is on the USA Network and its owned by NBCUniversal, its likely that the WWE would not want one of its bigger stars helping Fox with its ratings.
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.
