The World Series of Fighting debuted on NBC on Saturday afternoon July 5th in the first of two airings on network television in 2014.
The second airing on NBC occurs today, December 27th with a “Best of” show.
The debut show on NBC in July drew 781,000 average viewers for its Saturday afternoon card. The card featured Jon Fitch defeating Dennis Hallman and Justin Gaethje defending his lightweight title against Nick Newell.
Notably, the biggest demo during the WSOF’s debut on NBC was males over 50 years of age which is not the norm when it comes to MMA. One may assume that the demo is based on the time of day that the WSOF event aired. The event occurred the same day as UFC 175.
In addition this year, WSOF added international broadcast deals thanks to IMG media.
Also this year, WSOF renewed its broadcast agreement with NBC. The 4 year extension is not a “time-buy” or a rights fee deal. according to SBJ’s John Ourand But, NBC will cover some of the costs of production.
WSOF also announced what it characterized as a “game changer” with a unique PPV revenue structure model which it plans to implement in the second half of 2015 with an anticipated PPV later next year.
Payout Perspective:
Can the WSOF garner a bigger audience by appearing on NBC? The 781,000 viewers on NBC was the best television rating for the organization but did not do as well as boxing in a similar time slot on the network. From what appears as a crowded television landscape for MMA, WSOF finds itself a second (or third) choice for MMA viewing on any given event by the company. We note WSOF 15 airing on NBC Sports Network drew just 161,000 viewers on November 15th, the same night as UFC 180 and Bellator 131. Its replay on NBCSN did better ratings-wise than the live broadcast.
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