The UFC and Spike TV have officially announced that the UFC 116 weigh-ins will be broadcast live on Friday, July 2nd at 7PM ET/4 PM PT from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
New York, NY, June 28, 2010 – Spike TV will telecast live coverage of the weigh-ins for the highly-anticipated “UFC 116 Lesnar-Carwin” fight card on Friday, July 2 at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT. The main event features a showdown between the top two heavyweight mixed martial artists in the world, UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and interim heavyweight titlist Shane Carwin.
Payout Perspective:
This is an interesting approach for both the UFC and Spike. It’s not exactly riveting programming, but it’s another opportunity for the UFC to promote the fight on live television (and in a good time slot). The time slot becomes even more significant when you consider that it’s just one day before the fight and perhaps the last chance the UFC has to communicate with the consumer.
Lesnar and Carwin are obviously the primary attractions here — there’s something about their sheer size that fans just cannot get enough of — but I wonder if there’s the same appeal for every UFC event. I don’t think so.
At any rate, if the UFC and Spike can generate something in the range of 400k-600k for the weigh-in, I’d consider it a success and expect it to continue. It’s not like this costs them a ton to produce anyway. We’ll see.
I think this is a good idea. I usually watch the weigh ins via streaming.
good idea, however i’ll still watch it on the ufc site saturday morning, simply to avoid the 4 hour long commercials on spike
Great idea. There was 4,000 fans at the weigh in at UFC 68. It draws a large croud. But for Tv they need to make some changes. Nothing major but it gets a little pointless after a while the way they do the weigh ins. It goes very fast. They rush 2 guys onto the scales Rogan yells their weight and off they go and 2 more come out. There needs to be more. Thats not must see TV. They should ask the fighters a few questions after they got off the scale. I would do the main card fighters. Also another last reason to care about the fights and for a fighter to draw someone in.
Maybe have the weigh in on a 2 hour delay and add in segments from the prefight press conference. If they found an interesting angle i could see this doing very well for every PPV not just the mega cards with Brock.
I think it could be a hit, but maybe they need to figure out how too format it properly. Not, everyone is hyped to look at guys in their underwear. I believe it needs a proper format. If Zuffa and Spike can combine some footage of the main event and Spike prelims fighters as well as the UFC 116 infomercial, then add in the weigh ins, maybe they can have something.
I dont know that 400,000 viewers is a feasible number. I currently watch the weigh-ins online, dont plan on changing anytime soon. So, in order to grab the viewers online, Zuffa/Spike need to entice the potential viewer with additional content. Maybe some backstage footage or interviews. The biggest criticism I have of UFC has always been the lack of coverage on the whole fight card. UFC have carved a niche by selling the brand and the headliners/ co-headliners but, paid no mind or coverage to the rest of the card. This is another way to sell an event, the different personalities, styles, cultures and geography can all combine for some interesting story lines.