MMA & CBS…Success!
Looks like CBS’s decision to team up with Elite XC is going to work out well. The results (at least partially) are in. Looks like people DO want to watch the MMA, and CBS potentially has a gold mine on their hands, as they captured a large portion of the key 18-34 male demographic. From TV by the Numbers,
…Saturday Night Fights Elite XC event action scored 4.3 million viewers between 9pm-11pm. It may not sound like much in terms of viewers, but it hit the target with the coveted 18-34 youth, particularly the elusive 18-34 year old male television viewer.
The event had 1.9/6 18-49 rating (36% higher than the crimetime drama repeats) , a 1.9 among adults 18-34 (more than twice the season average .9 rating ) and a 2.6 rating among men 18-34, more than triple the season average of 0.7).
…as alluded to earlier the primary bout (Slice/Thompson) took place after 11pm, the final numbers will be even bigger (and again are not included in the numbers above) as that was no doubt the most watched portion of the fight.
I have to say, I didn’t expect CBS to pull in numbers like this on a Saturday night with the NHL finals as its competition. Kudos to you, CBS and Elite XC, you pulled in pretty big numbers and your main event isn’t even included in the current ratings data. Going forward, it will be interesting to see if CBS will add more Elite XC telecasts, and if other networks will follow suit (ESPN/ABC)? 5 years from now, will we have bidding wars for Elite XC like we have for major sport telecasts?
Maybe, maybe not…For now though, lets just all bask in the violent (James Thompson’s ear? anyone?) glory that is the MMA.
***And no…I’m not even going to entertain the idea that the MMA is fixed. At least, not yet.
TV by the Numbers: Nielsen Ratings May 31, 2008: MMA Scores with Youth for CBS
Category: Fringe Sports
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MMA definitely isn’t fixed. but they must be breathing huge sighs of relief that Kimbo Slice pulled out the win.
I admit to watching it. I feel shame. I have to admit, I entered the night knowing nothing about MMA except seeing it while flipping channels and reading about it the day prior to the event. I was not surprised at the rating it did but I was flat-out shocked at how pro wrestling it came off with the flygirls and long-winded intros complete with posses. I thought it would appear to be more interested in being taken seriously, closer to boxing than wrestling. It looked to be poorly constructed as as sporting event and a television show, running way past its alleged time period and for almost three hours, you got about fifteen minutes where something was actually happening. I felt either one of the girls featured probably could have beaten Kimbo had they been able to extend him to a third period, and I think MMA has to decide if it wants to be as legit a sport as possible…or a scripted circus sideshow.
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