Television By Numbers reports UFC on Fox 21 drew 2.22 million viewers last night on Fox. The event is down from July’s Fox event as it went up against NFL Preseason on CBS.
The event featured Demian Maia taking on Carlos Condit in the main event. Maia submitted Condit in the first round. There was no overrun since the event ended in the first two minutes of round 1. Also on the card was Paige VanZant return to the octagon as she got the TKO against Bec Rawling in the first round.
Last month, UFC on Fox 20 received 2.44 million overnight viewers and was a surprising success as Holly Holm was featured in the main event.
| UFC on Fox Ratings | |||
| Overnights | Live + SD | ||
| UFC on Fox 1 | 5,700,000 | ||
| UFC on Fox 2 | 4,570,000 | ||
| UFC on Fox 3 | 2,250,000 | 2,400,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 4 | 2,360,000 | 2,400,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 5 | 3,410,000 | 4,400,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 6 | 3,770,000 | 4,220,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 7 | 3,300,000 | 3,700,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 8 | 2,040,000 | 2,380,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 9 | 2,410,000 | 2,800,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 10 | 2,550,000 | 3,220,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 11 | 1,990,000 | 2,500,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 12 | 2,020,000 | 2,500,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 13 | 2,270,000 | 2,800,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 14 | 2,820,000 | 3,049,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 15 | 2,430,000 | 2,745,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 16 | 2,290,000 | 2,800,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 17 | 2,280,000 | 2,781,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 18 | 2,430,000 | 2,685,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 19 | 2,130,000 | 2,500,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 20 | 2,440,000 | 2,975,000 | |
| UFC on Fox 21 | 2,220,000 | ||
According to TV By Numbers it drew 0.8 in the adult 18-49 demo and a 3 share. The NFL on CBS drew 4.28M viewers (1.0 rating A18-49/4 share). Overall, UFC on Fox drew the less overall in total viewers but was second behind the NFL in A18-49 demo and overall market share.
Payout Perspective:
Not a huge bump for PVZ’s return. The NFL Preseason games caused for the lower number. Despite exhibition, NFL Football is still a draw. There was a PBC on Spike TV card on as well although that likely had no effect on the UFC viewership. This was the first time that a Fox show has been held in late August, so we might see them stick to mid-July and then again during NFL season.
Hey Jason, a little off topic but I would for you to do a full fledged report on tv ad rates for Ufc, pbc,wwe and other major leagues. I always wonder why wwe gets the big tv ratings but their tv deal is extremely low. Mls barely average 250,000 viewers but has a similar tv deal than Ufc.
Wrestling gets low tv deals because even though the ratings are high, the audience is known to advertisers as cheap and so advertisers won’t pay big money to advertise during the shows and that’s how USA and others make their money back.
There is a reddit thread that said Meltzer stated that WWE/USA get about 1/7 ad rate prices then a UFC Fight Night.
MLS/UFC is a different story. UFC signed their deal in 2011 and MLS signed their deal in 2014. MLS is also 3 different networks paying a combined 90 million a year and the UFC is 1 network paying 100 million a year. The belief also is that the UFC’s tv rights are going to go up significantly. I think it was Darren Rovell who said they were selling the UFC on the idea that the tv rights would quadruple to 400 million a year and even if doesn’t go that high, you’re gonna see a major increase when UFC and FOX begin to negotiate a new tv deal.
Seems to be consistent with recent FOX shows.