MMA Junkie reports that the Summer Series of Bellator on MTV2 received an average of 185,000 viewers.
Via MMA Junkie:
The event marked a steep decline from the promotion’s record ratings at Bellator 44 and Bellator 45 to close season four but fell right in line with the season’s other nine events, which each averaged 184,222 viewers.
In addition, Sherdog.com’s Mike Whitman reports that MTV2 posted its highest-rated quarter in the channel’s history thanks to Bellator programming. MTV2 increased its viewership by 14 percent overall and Bellator boosted the Saturday time slot by 11 percent.
Payout Perspective:
Although the numbers are not as high as its initial debut, they are a decent start. The landscape of MMA has changed since March and with Zuffa’s purchase of Strikeforce, Bellator is the de facto number 2 organization in MMA. Bellator has helped increase MTV2 ratings by 11 percent in its Saturday night timeslot. While one may argue that the increase could be due to the fact that MTV2 did not have a viable program in the time slot, the numbers increase show that people are starting to tune in to the show.
“de facto” lol. It’s funny how since the same company owns both the #1 and the #2 MMA promotions in the country, people like to say Bellator is #2. Strikeforce is #2 and it is disrespectful to Scott Coker to suggest otherwise 😛
In all seriousness though, Bellator’s got to be disappointed taht their numbers fluctuate so much. It indicates their hardcore base following is around 175,000 or so. They’ll need to prove they can consistently get more viewers before they can make more money and improve their roster.