The UFC 253 Prelims on ESPN2 drew 523,000 viewers Saturday according to Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily. The 3 hour telecast also drew 229,000 in A18-49 demo. It was the lowest output for the Prelims this year although the first time on ESPN2.
The fights took place on ESPN2 due to College Football which aired on ESPN. The feature bout saw Brad Riddell defeat Alex da Silva in a battle of lightweights. It also saw Jake Matthews best longtime veteran Diego Sanchez in a welterweight battle. The event was a pre-cursor to the UFC 253 PPV which took place in Abu Dhabi.
The prelims were the lowest output on the ESPN network this year. This may be due in part to the change in networks from ESPN to ESPN2.
UFC Prelims Post-Pandemic
UFC 249 1.154M
UFC 250 775,000
UFC 251 809,000
UFC 252 851,000
UFC 253 523,000* (ESPN2)
Payout Perspective:
The change in network may have hurt the ratings but so did the programming on Saturday night with the NHL, NBA and College Football taking up the night on the networks. Moving the telecast to ESPN2 does give an indication as to how many casual fans watch UFC because its on ESPN.
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