TUF 10 Breaks Another Ratings Record – 3.7 HH (5.3 million viewers)

Last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights drew a series record across all metrics and demographics:

Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” is the undisputed ratings champ on Wednesday nights. The most recent episode of the tenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” drew 5.3 million viewers, peaking at a staggering 6.1 million viewers on Wednesday, September 30 (10:00pm-11:00pm ET/PT). Featuring a fight between contestants Kimbo Slice and Roy Nelson, the telecast ranks as the most-watched episode of an original series in the six-year history of the channel* and the most-watched program of any kind in Men 18-34 and Men 18-49.

 

“The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” was clearly the top-rated program on television on Wednesday with men in all key demographics including Men 18-34, M18-49, M18-24, and M25-34. It also was the most watched program among Persons 18-34 with a 4.7 rating (2.7 million), illustrating co-viewing among young men and women.

 

The episode also drew more Men 18-34 than anything else on television this week thus far, except Monday Night Football on ESPN. Also of note, only seven series in all of television this fall season drew more men 18-34, despite “The Ultimate Fighter” being in its tenth season.

 

Overall, the record-breaking telecast drew a 6.9 in Men 18-34 (2 million), a 5.4 in M18-49 (3.1 million), a household rating of 3.7 and 5.3 million total viewers.

 Payout Perspective:

Dana White had made it quite clear that he was not interested in running another heavyweight show after TUF 2; but, with ratings like this, how could he possibly pass the heavyweights up? (Or, perhaps more correctly, with the opportunity to capitalize on Kimbo Slice, how could he pass these ratings up?)

Here’s a look at the ratings for the season thus far:

Episode 1: 2.9 HH, 5.3 M18-34, 4.3 M18-49
Episode 2: 2.2 HH, 4.2 M18-34, 3.2 M18-49
Episode 3: 3.7 HH, 6.9 M18-34, 5.4 M18-49

Series average: 1.3 HH

The real question is now, will the UFC be able to maintain these ratings throughout the rest of the season? The smart money probably says no, but the organization is already trying to protect itself by teasing that Kimbo may get a shot to climb back in the Octagon with the injury/breakdown of Marcus Jones.

That, of course, assumes that after his performance against Nelson, the casual fan still wants to see Kimbo fight. Then again, he did get knocked out by Seth Petruzelli and his ratings haven’t skipped a beat. I suppose that’s more ammunition for the idea that quality is all a perception of the mind – good PR and advertising can make the consumer believe just about anything.

With that said, Kimbo has served his purpose:  TUF 10 will still likely be the highest rated season within the series – regardless of whether the bearded one fights again or not.

Some interesting business observations:

• The UFC used what they knew was going to be a viewership bonanza to plug UFC 104 at every opportunity. If we’re to see any substantial, long-term benefit to the UFC from this record breaking season, it will be additions to the UFC’s baseline through savvy event advertising during the show.

• The new partnership between Rhapsody and TUF seems like a no-brainer. MMA shares a strong association with music, because of the nature of the sport and the way athletes prepare – it feeds the aggression and the intensity of the fighters.Anyone notice the increasing frequency of Rhapsody ads lately? It’ll be interesting to see if they can challenge iTunes for market share (something which seems like an almost impossible tasks). I’m not sure that the advertising is going to be effective without the PR, however. I’m still waiting to see the brand take off in industry magazines, the WSJ, and other publications – get the early adapters in and move the site through a combination of viral marketing and targeted advertising.

• Lastly, Spike TV is still using the teaser clips in the middle of commercial segments.  What’s the point? I can understand the desire of Spike TV to get people back into their seats before the start of the next segment, but it’s really not necessary. It’s more aggravating than anything else, and it’s eventually going to push the casual consumer away from the product (especially now that Kimbo is no longer the main focus of the show).