Ronda Rousey will become the first-ever female athlete to guest host SportsCenter as announced by ESPN through a company press release. Rousey will co-host the 6pm ET show Wednesday (October 7th) with Lindsy Czarniak.
2013 was the first year that ESPN started having guest hosts for SportsCenter.
Rousey is becoming a mainstream magnet as she has appeared on Good Morning America and Ellen in recent weeks. Ellen recently premiered the acclaimed UFC 193 promo which features Rousey. A longer version was seen at the end of the UFC 192 PPV.
Payout Perspective:
The Rousey appearance on SportsCenter shows you that despite FS1 as a partner, the UFC still believes that ESPN is the best vehicle to gain visibility for its product. Rousey is a ratings mover. One need only look at the fact that her UFC 184 replay on Friday on FS1 drew 433,000 viewers (h/t Sports TV Ratings). It was the highest rated show on the network Friday. The ESPN appearance kicks off the media blitz as we march to her next PPV on November 14th.
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