MMAPayout.com has learned that Wednesday’s UFN 21: Florian vs. Gomi earned a 1.5HH rating with an average audience of 1.6 million viewers on Spike TV. The program peaked at 2 million viewers for the main event, and performed on par with the usual UFC draw in the M18-34 (1.6) and M18-49 (1.5) demographics.
The quarter hour rating progression was as follows, and illustrates how MMA events often build a great audience towards the main event: .86, 1.19, 1.24, 1.29, 1.07, 1.09, 1.2, 1.5, 1.55.
Payout Perspective:
The average rating draw for a UFN show is fairly close to 1.5 HH, so the ratings for UFN 21 are on par with what the UFC should expect from a show like this. I happen to think it’s a pretty good result for the UFC considering this event was largely lost in the fog where promotion was concerned due to UFC’s debut on Versus, UFC 111, and UFC 112 all drawing greater attention from the UFC and the media.
Moreover, the sole attraction on the card was really Florian vs. Gomi, and it showed in the quarter ratings. Unlike the live gate where Florian vs. Gomi was the source of a strong draw in total, on television the fans only tuned in for the big fight.
Be sure to check MMAPayout.com’s Blue Book for a fairly complete list of MMA television ratings.
Out of curiosity, does anyone know what rating is considered a “success” by a network? Aside from the trending aspect, I never know what to make of these numbers.
^This needs a full length column unto itself. I have a basic understanding of ratings and what is good in relationship to the type of network and timeslot, but would like a more full and useful understanding of how to interpret the numbers.
And in that column, I’d like MMA Payout’s take on just how much better the UFC would do in the same slot that CBS wastes on SF, and why.
Get to it guys!
On cable TV a 1.0 rating is very successful. Depending on which network you are on you could get prime time slots when more people are watching TV. A network like TBS or TNT would have shows close to 3.0 ratings at best so a 1.0 wont get you the very best slot but a pretty good one none the less. A 1.0 for Spike will still get you any slot you want. They simply dont have anything else to bring in that rating consistantly. So Spike would keep airing TUF even if it was .4 or lower. But at that point you have to factor in cost. Does the UFC bring in ad revenue to off set the cost of the show. IF not they will choose to pull the plug. But even a .4 rating wouldnt kill TUF imo. HH rating is “house hold” rating. 1 rating point would be 1% of the house’s in America watching. There is roughly 110 million households. Each rating point is about 1.1 million viewers.
On Network TV like NBC there is much more people watching and having access to those channels. So a much higher rating is needed to survive. A 1.0 rating will get you canciled or put on a 3 am. A 3.0 rating depending on cost to produce the show will get you either canciled or put in a not so good time slot. A 6+ rating will get you very close to a prime time slot. 8-10 rating would almost be a lock to have the best time slot.
Nielson tracks the ratings through customers who tract thier TV viewing either digitally or manually. Part of the info they fill out is how many watching this program. So the viewers per rating point often changes. As you would guess more people gather to watch sporting events. You dont have a house full of people over to watch Sienfeld. Through this same info you get age, ethnic etc, info to see what demo you appeal to as a program.
Im not an expert and i wasnt asked. But IMO the UFC on CBS instead of Elite XC and Strikeforce would have done great. I think a first show would have done a 7 area rating and leveled out around 5+ depending on the stength of their cards. But now it would be a little harder. When Elite ran the first show on CBS there was a lot of press and a lot of people give it a try for the first time. They turned a lot of people off to MMA. UFC jumping in now would be big and get a lot of buzz but not as much if Elite and SF hadnt got their foot in the door first. In the end it all depends on the mainstream potential of MMA. To be a huge success on network TV and get a Prime Time slot you cant just appeal to White Men 18-48. You just cant draw 10 million viewers that way. Other demos will have to start liking MMA and that will decide the future of the sport. If Woman, older people, hispanics, blacks, etc dont get into MMA in bigger numbers then it will not be able to compete with other sports on Netowrk tv. But the UFC dont really need network TV as long as they sustain their PPV buys. But to be as big as Soccer like Dana claims then all the demos would have to buy into MMA. I hope a answered some of your questions about the ratings.
Thank You!