K-1 World MAX GP 2010 Final Japan Ratings

FEG held this years K-1 World MAX GP 2010 Tournament Finale  in Tokyo, Japan, which aired on the Japanese network Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) on November 8th.

The event did a 7.6 rating on TBS, compared to the 10.7 rating it was able to pull for last year’s event. Though it is typical for MAX events to receive lower ratings than K-1 GP events, which features most of the company’s biggest stars, the number is still considered to be low and disappointing for FEG.

Though the quality of fights the MAX events typically provide, we have to take into account the absence of Japanese K-1 great Masato (who retired last year), which surely impacted the ratings for the night. Just a few weeks ago, FEG’s MMA promotion DREAM, was able to pull an 11.9 rating on TBS for the DREAM.16 event.

Payout Perspective:

The K-1 World MAX GP produced some of the best combat sport bouts all year, and its a shame that the ratings for the event weren’t better. FEG was well aware of a potential ratings disaster for the event without Japanese K-1 great Masato, forcing them to book Japanese Olympic gold medalist and go-to ratings grabber Satoshi Ishii, placing him against Japanese fan-favorite Katsuyori Shibata in a MMA bout.  The strategic move paid off for FEG, as the bout between Ishii and Shibata topped the event with a 12.1 peak rating.

As usual, FIELDS was the main sponsor for the event, but with ratings on the decline, FEG needs to put on some great shows for the remainder of the year to maintain a healthy and happy relationship with their sponsors and TV partners (TBS and Fuji TV).  FEG has two huge shows coming up, where Strikeforce HW Champion Alistair Overeem will be featured on the K-1 World GP 2010 Final event on December 11th.  The Japanese promotion will finish 2010 with a splash when they host their annual Dynamite!! NYE event on December 31st, which typically does great rating numbers for the company.