MMA Universe

Saturday night’s UFC on FOX  2 event from the United Center in Chicago posted a 2.6/5 national rating/share, averaging 4.66M viewers and peaking at just over 6 million according to figures released by Nielsen Media Research today.

Fox Sports Media Group Ratings Press Release:

As expected, FOX dominated the night on the important younger demographics. FOX’s 2.4 among Adults 18-49 nearly beat the combined ratings of ABC, CBS, and NBC (2.5 combined) and FOX’s 2.5 among Adults 18-34 easily beat those three network competitors combined (1.4). The three-bout broadcast on FOX averaged 4.7 million viewers from 8:00 PM – 10:19 PM ET.

The two-hour event, the first official network broadcast of FOX’s partnership with UFC, is off slightly (-16%) from the UFC on FOX premiere in November (3.1/5), which was only one hour and featured a highly-anticipated heavyweight championship fight. When comparing similar time periods for the two events, FOX posted a 3.0/5 from 9:00 – 10:15 PM ET, off only a tenth from the November UFC fight.

In several meaningful demographics, the last hour of Saturday’s broadcast rated higher than November’s UFC premiere on FOX with Men 25-49 up +3%, Men 25-54 up +3%, Men 35-54 up +4%.

As anticipation to the night’s main event grew so did the ratings and viewership. The night’s first match between Demian Maia and Chris Weidman scored a 2.2/4 rating/share. The next fight between Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping grew to a 2.7/5. Fans tuned in to see former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans take on undefeated former national champion wrestler Phil Davis with that bout posting a 3.4/6. More than 6 million viewers watched the five-round bout where Evans defeated Davis by unanimous decision

The top five metered markets for Saturday’s UFC on FOX event are: Las Vegas – 4.1/8; Louisville – 4.1/7; Indianapolis – 3.9/7; Greenville – 3.9/6; Tulsa – 3.9/6; and Knoxville – 3.9/6.

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Loretta Hunt of SI.com has more information on the ratings:

The 2-hour and 19-minute broadcast, which started at 8 p.m. EST (5 p.m. PST), peaked with an average 6.080 million viewers (from 10 to 10:19 p.m.) during the five-round main event pitting former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans against Phil Davis.
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Last November, the first one-hour UFC telecast on FOX garnered an average 5.675 million viewers for a 3.1 household rating. It peaked with 8.802 million viewers during the 64-second heavyweight championship bout between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, making it the most watched fight ever (live or taped).

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Ratings by Half-hour Blocks:

- UFC on FOX 2 (8:00 pm-8:30 pm): 3.43 million viewers

-UFC on FOX 2 (8:30 pm-9:00 pm): 3.98 million viewers

-UFC on FOX 2 (9:00 pm-9:30 pm): 4.67 million viewers

-UFC on FOX 2 (9:30 pm-10:00 pm): 5.66 million viewers

- Overall: An average of 4.66M (peak of 6.08M) viewers watched the fight live or via DVR playback within the same day.

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Payout Perspective:

Compared to the first UFC on FOX event (5.67M average viewers with a peak of 8.8M), this show (4.66M average viewers with a peak of 6.08M) fell short of those numbers despite having an extra hour of air time and three total fights, instead of just one with only seconds of actual fight time.  In fact, this event fell in line with previous MMA telecasts that have aired on CBS. The fact that there was over 2 hours of MMA action (11 rounds total) and no exciting back-and-forth’s or finishes to get the fans and crowd involved really hurt the energy of the event.  After casual fans complained that there was plenty of hype for only seconds of fighting, they now got the other extreme.

The top five metered markets for Saturday’s UFC on FOX event were Las Vegas (4.1/8), Louisville (4.1/7), Indianapolis (3.9/7), Greenville (3.9/6), Tulsa (3.9/6), and Knoxville (3.9/6). It’s interesting to point out that best markets in terms of national TV have not always been the best markets for PPV.  The only west coast market here is Las Vegas, but other markets such as Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, and Hawaii have historically been top PPV markets but did not make the list here on free national TV.

Notable to point out the counter-programming efforts here by Spike TV, who averaged 828K viewers for a “UFC Fight Night” replay and “UFC Unleashed” episodes that aired from 7-11 p.m. ET/PT. Those episodes featured fighters that were fighting on the UFC on FOX 2 event, which most likely created some fan confusion, but on the other hand, gave those FOX viewers an option to tune in to another channel to watch the same product and see some exciting finishes and fights.  By looking at the ratings Spike TV has achieved counter-programming UFC on FOX and UFC on FX specials, MMA fans who have become MMA fans by watching Spike TV are still in fact tuning in.

TV By the Numbers reports the overnight ratings for UFC on Fox 2 as it clearly won its timeslot among the networks with a 2.2 rating and a 7 share with an estimated 4.373 million viewer average. The numbers may be adjusted (and likely upward) due to the nature of live programming according to TV By the Numbers.

The timeslot victory may be tempered considering it was the only live original network programming during the timeslot and US Figure Skating Championships – a sport with more of a niche audience (outside of the Olympics) than MMA – was the only other live programming on any of the networks.

UPDATE: FOX releases Ratings

Saturday night’s UFC ON FOX event from the United Center in Chicago, posted a 2.7/5 household overnight rating/share, +42% better than FOX’s Saturday primetime average for the previous four weeks (1.9/4), according to Nielsen Media Research.

FOX Sports Research projects that the network is expected to win the night among Adults 18-49 by a wide margin, and may beat ABC, CBS and NBC combined in the Adults 18-34 demographic when national figures are issued tomorrow.

The three-bout, two-hour event, the first official network broadcast of FOX’s partnership with UFC, is off from the UFC on FOX premiere in November (3.5/6), which was only one hour and featured a highly anticipated heavyweight championship fight. When comparing similar time periods for the two events, FOX posted a 3.1/5 from 9:00-10:15 PM ET, compared to the 3.5/6 that the premiere event recorded from 9:00-10:00 PM.

As anticipation to the night’s main event grew so did the ratings. The night’s first match, Jitsu master Demian Maia taking on unbeaten Chris Weidman did a 2.3/4. The next fight between middleweight contender Chael Sonnen battling British star Michael Bisping grew to a 2.9/5. Fans tuned in to see former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans take on undefeated former national champion wrestler Phil Davis with that bout posting a 3.4/6. The fight went all five rounds and Evans defeated Davis by unanimous decision.

The top five metered markets for Saturday’s UFC on FOX event are: Las Vegas – 4.1/8; Louisville – 4.1/7; Indianapolis – 3.9/7; Greenville – 3.9/6; Tulsa – 3.9/6; and Knoxville – 3.9/6.  Other markets of interest: New York – 2.2/4; Los Angeles – 2.3/5; and host city Chicago – 2.8/5.

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Payout Perspective:

The numbers are off from the first Fox event in November when those numbers totaled a 3.1 rating with 5.7 million viewers with a peak of 8.8 million viewers. Its unlikely that we’ll see that high of a peak here. The West Coast tape delay and overrun may help with the final tally for the ratings. UFC on Fox 1 was only 1 hour and was more of a novelty for the casual viewer. We shall see what the final results are for the UFC’s second time on the network. Unfortunately, not a lot of action to cheer for on the network show as the three fights wouldn’t appeal to someone watching MMA for the first time. It will be interesting how the UFC will work to ensure exciting fights next time out.

MMA Junkie reports that the UFC on FX’s debut scored 1.3 million viewers on Friday night. The prelim bouts on Fuel, which preceded the FX show, received 148,000 viewers.

In comparison, Spike TV ran UFC counterprogramming at the same time as UFC on FX which garnered an average of 700,000 viewers.

According to MMA Junkie the ratings for UFC on FX received a 1.19 average among men 18-49 and a 1.21 for men 18-34.

Payout Perspective:

If you look at it with the glass half full, there were a lot of UFC fans watching its product Friday night. But, its with the UFC’s current tv partner we are concerned with here. The numbers are lower for FX right now in comparison to recent Spike TV live programming. This may be unfair to compare considering that the UFC is in its infancy stages of its new TV deal and we have a quirky situation with Spike maintaining the UFC library. There is the other argument that the switch from Friday to Saturday may be an issue. However, this spring Friday night will be the night for MMA as Bellator sets up shop on Fridays opposite the UFC on two channels.

Based on its low attendance and gate, the ratings fall in line with the fact that this event fell victim to being an event in the midst of a blitz of bigger UFC events. We shall see how Fox markets its product on FX to ensure more viewers are directed to its Friday live events.

MMA Junkie reports that UFC on FX 1 drew 7,728 fans for a gate of $334,860. The event took place Friday night at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

According to Junkie, a late sales and media push had most of the lower bowl in the 19,000 seat venue full. The last time the UFC held an event in the arena was in April 2009. That show, a UFC Fight Night, garnered 10,267 fans for a $626,077 gate.

In addition, the bonuses handed out were $45,000 each. Nick Denis, Jim Miller, Pat Barry, and Christian Morecraft all received the bonuses. Denis won for KO of the night, Miller won sub of the night and Barry and Morecraft earned Fight of the Night. There was some controversy for the FOTN choice, as many believed Jared Papazian and Mike Easton won that honor. Listening to his followers, Dana White tweeted that Papazian and Easton would “take care of” for their work Friday night. So, it sounds like another bonus may have been paid to Papazian and Easton.

Payout Perspective:

A decent event that was caught in between UFC 142 and the UFC’s next card on network TV. Thus, not too much buzz leading up to the Friday night event. The attendance reflects this fact but the figures fall in line with a UFC on Versus card. One would think more fans would come out since its been 2 plus years since the UFC visited Nashville. But, it might be the quality of the card that kept people from spending the money. It will be interesting to see the ratings for the event as it debuted on FX.

The Sports Business Journal reports on the return to the ring of NBC on the rebranded NBC Sports Network formerly known as Versus. Saturday night is the debut of “NBC Sports Network Fight Night,” which will appear quarterly in 2012 on the network.

NBCSN will work with Main Events as its promotional company to produce quality fights. It already has had an obstacle to overcome as its original main event was scrapped due to fighter injury. Main Events replaced the main event with a match between two unknown, but unbeaten heavyweights.

The pledge by Main Events is that it will put on competitive fights and will work with other promoters to achieve this goal.

According to boxing sources, rights fees will average $150,000 per show which, according to the SBJ, wil “fill a middle-class void that exists between ESPN and the premium cable networks.”

With the Comcast-NBC merger, past hurdles in developing fighters and having them move on to HBO, Showtime and PPV are no longer. Main Events CEO Kathy Duva told Sports Business Journal that if fighters leave for premium cable, Comcast still wins. Also, if fighters become PPV stars, Comcast wins too.

The two hour program will debut Saturday night at 6pmPT/9pmET. It will air from the old ECW Arena in Philadelphia.

GoDaddy.com has signed on as a sponsor for the show.

Payout Perspective:

It will be interesting to see how this show will be received. The Fight Night follows NBCSN’s strategy of live programming being central to its sports network. Its an interesting concept by Main Events and addresses a problem that is common in the boxing industry. As we’ve seen with Mayweather-Pacquiao, the problems of promoters working with each other prohibits good match-ups. We’ll see how the show will present compelling storylines and promote fighters.

MMA Junkie reports that UFC Tonight on Fuel TV drew an average of 61,000 viewers on Tuesday night. It triples the viewership of the show from last week.

UFC Tonight, the UFC’s news magazine show, debuted January 3rd with a  39,000 viewer average. Last week’s edition scored a low of 20,000 viewers.

Via MMA Junkie:

In 2011, FUEL TV was cable’s lowest-rated channel. However, thanks largely to the UFC’s new partnership with the channel, which airs live fights and an array of other UFC programming, FUEL TV has expanded from a meager 30 million U.S. homes to approximately 36 million in just a matter of months. (By comparison, the UFC’s former longtime home, Spike TV, is available in approximately 100 million.)

While the growth process has proved problematic for some hardcore UFC fans who don’t have FUEL TV in their programming lineup, the cable channel has seen an immediate impact in its viewership. According to FUEL TV officials, the channel has seen a 56 percent gain in total viewers over the first two weeks of 2011 and a 75 percent increase in viewers in the coveted male 18-49 demographic.

Payout Perspective:

The spike (no pun intended) in ratings is a good sign that fans are finding the show. As we’ve indicated here before, there will be some growing pains with the new Fox platforms as fans get used to the new channel. It will be interesting to see if the ratings continue to rise, remain steady, or fluctuate depending on the events and subjects covered by the show.

MMA Junkie reports that UFC Tonight on Fuel TV drew an average of 61,000 viewers on Tuesday night. It triples the viewership of the show from last week.

UFC Tonight, the UFC’s news magazine show, debuted January 3rd with a  39,000 viewer average. Last week’s edition scored a low of 20,000 viewers.

Via MMA Junkie:

In 2011, FUEL TV was cable’s lowest-rated channel. However, thanks largely to the UFC’s new partnership with the channel, which airs live fights and an array of other UFC programming, FUEL TV has expanded from a meager 30 million U.S. homes to approximately 36 million in just a matter of months. (By comparison, the UFC’s former longtime home, Spike TV, is available in approximately 100 million.)

While the growth process has proved problematic for some hardcore UFC fans who don’t have FUEL TV in their programming lineup, the cable channel has seen an immediate impact in its viewership. According to FUEL TV officials, the channel has seen a 56 percent gain in total viewers over the first two weeks of 2011 and a 75 percent increase in viewers in the coveted male 18-49 demographic.

Payout Perspective:

The spike (no pun intended) in ratings is a good sign that fans are finding the show. As we’ve indicated here before, there will be some growing pains with the new Fox platforms as fans get used to the new channel. It will be interesting to see if the ratings continue to rise, remain steady, or fluctuate depending on the events and subjects covered by the show.

Beginning Summer of 2012, HDNet will be rebranded as AXS TV, a joint venture between HDNet, AEG, Ryean Seacrest Media, and CAA Establish.

HDNet, AEG, Ryan Seacrest Media, and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) today announced a joint venture that will rebrand HDNet/HDNet Canada to launch AXS TV (pronounced: access). Scheduled to debut this summer, AXS TV will leverage the global reach and portfolio of content opportunities of its partners to create live entertainment and lifestyle programming. Capitalizing on AEG’s unrivaled presence in live events and affiliation with more than 100 of the industry’s pre-eminent venues worldwide, AXS TV will provide viewers with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to live concerts and music festivals, red carpet premieres, award shows, parties, pop culture events, and in-depth interviews with the people and artists who make live entertainment so uniquely fascinating.
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HDNet’s signature programming including HDNet Fights, Inside MMA, award-winning Dan Rather Reports, Sunday concert series, and select non-scripted series will continue on AXS TV.
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As part of their agreement with the joint venture, DISH will offer a variety of unique music services to their subscribers.
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“I’m incredibly excited to be in business with AEG, Ryan Seacrest, and CAA,” said Mark Cuban, Co-Founder and Chairman, HDNet. “This is a major step on our way to offering more live programming than any other entertainment and lifestyle network. And our partnership with DISH to offer unique subscriber services will allow AXS TV to change the value proposition between networks, distributors, and subscribers. AXS TV will unquestionably be able to leverage our unique assets to do things no other network will be able to replicate.”
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With production facilities at AEG’s owned and operated L.A. LIVE (which includes venues such as STAPLES Center, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, Club Nokia and The GRAMMY Museum’s Clive Davis Theater), as well as their access to their worldwide network of the busiest venues of all sizes, AXS TV will have the inside track to programming that will connect audiences with the complete live experience. From show creation and development to rehearsals, sound-check and performance and right thru the after-party, viewers will get an immersive look into their favorite acts touring today, AXS TV will span the globe to bring viewers the best live entertainment events.
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AEG is very pleased to be involved with Mark Cuban and HDNet and equally as proud to have partners like Ryan Seacrest Media and CAA,” said Timothy J. Leiweke, President & CEO, AEG. “The live business continues to grow and expand and the ability to give fans the opportunity to experience live in a different way is something we have been looking for a way to do for years.”
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“As part of a point of emanation for content, we are excited to provide the resources of L.A. LIVE, the O2 and our London campus among the many assets we are bringing into the partnership. In addition, we are excited that AXS TV will have a host studio at L.A. LIVE. This is a natural tie-in for our ticketing platform, axs Ticketing, as well as our facilities around the world.
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This is a platform for all agents, all promoters and all managers. It is not the creation of an AEG channel. It is about the fans and bringing the live experience to them,” Leiweke added.
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Representatives of the joint venture also announced that DISH, the nation’s third largest pay-TV provider, has agreed to expand its carriage of the rebranded HDNet by offering it in the America’s Top 120 programming package, bringing millions more DISH customers access to the rebranded channel and resulting in AXS TV reaching well over 35 million North American households.
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In addition to the increased distribution of the re-branded network, DISH will begin offering a large selection of AXS-branded Video On Demand concerts starting on March 15, 2012. Capitalizing on AEG’s unrivaled presence in the promotion of live events and nationwide network of clubs, DISH will work with AEG to offer unique ticketing opportunities for DISH viewers of AXS TV. Amenities include special ticketing opportunities, premium seating, private viewing areas and food & beverage specials. Starting August 1, 2012, DISH and AXS TV will launch AXS Headliner Club, an online audition site providing local bands and musicians the opportunity to audition to perform at an AEG-affiliated club or theater.
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“AXS TV brings DISH subscribers a premier TV destination for concert-goers to watch the most popular concert acts and provide opportunities for unique ticket sales at venues near them,” said Joe Clayton, CEO, DISH. “The new DISH is all about ‘more music, more movies, and more magic.’ So, we’re pleased to provide a majority of our subscribers front row seats to this innovative channel.”
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AXS TV will continue to be available on HDNet’s existing distributors including DIRECTV, Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, Charter, NCTC-member systems, Suddenlink and Shaw (in Canada).
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Ryan Seacrest Media holds an ownership stake in AXS TV, and will provide access to multi-media platforms, and celebrity and brand relationships, as well as assist in the corporate brand development for AXS TV. As part of the deal, Ryan Seacrest Productions, an independent entertainment production company, will also develop and produce programming for AXS TV.
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“Over the last year, we’ve been diligently working with our partners AEG and CAA to strategize and explore how we could deliver quality live entertainment and lifestyle programming to a large audience. HDNet is the perfect partner to help us translate our vision into a reality, giving us an instant reach into 35 million homes when we rebrand the channel and launch AXS TV,” said Ryan Seacrest. “Mark Cuban and Tim Leiweke bring a tremendous amount of entrepreneurial experience and spirit to this venture, and I’m confident our collective collaboration will make AXS a success,” he added.
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CAA will access its extensive experience, expertise, and relationships in entertainment to help create valuable content relationships for the network and provide strategic advisory services in the areas of corporate development, marketing, technology, and brand integration and sponsorship, among others. Seacrest is represented by CAA.
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“We have worked closely with AEG and Ryan Seacrest to conceptualize a new network that could benefit from our combined resources and create a new distribution opportunity for artists and content creators and their high-quality entertainment and lifestyle programming,” said David O’Connor, Managing Partner, CAA. “Mark Cuban and his HDNet make a terrific partner for this venture, and we look forward to joining forces to help build AXS into a premier cable destination for entertainment enthusiasts.”
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Financial terms of the new venture were not disclosed.

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Payout Perspective:

According to the press release, HDNet’s current signature programming – which includes MMA content such as HDNet Fights and Inside MMA – will continue to air on AXS TV.  The rebranded channel will leverage the global reach and portfolio of content of its partners to focus on live entertainment and lifestyle programming. The the initial plan for AXS TV is to focus on live entertainment and event programming, which include MMA, concerts, and movies.

A key to this deal appears to be DISH’s agreement to expand it’s carriage of AXS TV (HDNet) by offering it in the America’s Top 120 programming package and On Demand capabilities, giving more access to millions of DISH customers, which will increase the reach of the channel to 35 million by the Summer.  AXS TV will be available to DirecTV, Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, Charter, NCTC-member systems, Suddenlink and Shaw (in Canada), which are the current HDNet carriers.

MMA Fighting reports that Vince McMahon has nixed the idea of CM Punk walking out with Chael Sonnen before his fight at UFC on Fox 2 in Chicago. The original announcement of the du0 walking out came out earlier this month.

Punk, a Chicago native, would have drawn some extra cheers for Sonnen in his fight with Mark Munoz.

Payout Perspective:

This is the best for the UFC. There are no crossover issues to worry about and the casual viewer won’t associate pro wrestling with MMA. The WWE probably feels the same. As a brand, it does not need to associate itself with the UFC. Also, since the WWE’s biggest program, RAW, is on the USA Network and its owned by NBCUniversal, its likely that the WWE would not want one of its bigger stars helping Fox with its ratings.

Variey reports that MTV’s “MMA” reality show “Caged” drew poor ratings in its debut. The show drew 619,000 viewers and only a 0.64 rating in the targeted 12-34 demographic.

The series features young, small town males trying to make it in the local MMA promotion. Unbeknownst to the MMA fan hoping to watch young, up and comers trying to make it up the ladder, many of the main characters are self-trained and are only looking to party and score girls. While the partying and girl problems may be an inherent part (for some) of being a young athlete, the series fell short on MMA.

Payout Perspective:

The debut did run opposite the BCS National Championship Game so that might be a reason for the lower than expected ratings. However, after seeing the first episode, many fans hoping to see an MMA reality show may not tune in again. The 10 episode run caters to a certain MTV reality audience interested in shows like “Teen Mom,” “Jersey Shore” and “The Theriot Family.” “Caged” served as the intro to “Shore” and “Theriot” on Monday night. While MMA fans were enticed by the MMA marketing, it was a disappointment.

Variey reports that MTV’s “MMA” reality show “Caged” drew poor ratings in its debut. The show drew 619,000 viewers and only a 0.64 rating in the targeted 12-34 demographic.

The series features young, small town males trying to make it in the local MMA promotion. Unbeknownst to the MMA fan hoping to watch young, up and comers trying to make it up the ladder, many of the main characters are self-trained and are only looking to party and score girls. While the partying and girl problems may be an inherent part (for some) of being a young athlete, the series fell short on MMA.

Payout Perspective:

The debut did run opposite the BCS National Championship Game so that might be a reason for the lower than expected ratings. However, after seeing the first episode, many fans hoping to see an MMA reality show may not tune in again. The 10 episode run caters to a certain MTV reality audience interested in shows like “Teen Mom,” “Jersey Shore” and “The Theriot Family.” “Caged” served as the intro to “Shore” and “Theriot” on Monday night. While MMA fans were enticed by the MMA marketing, it was a disappointment.

Ring.tv is reporting that Top Rank Boxing and Spike TV is working on a weekly boxing program for the channel. Top Rank is seeking a better platform for its fighters as it currently is seen on Fox Sports.

The proposed show is slated for 36 shows beginning March 9th. Late last year, NBC Sports Network announced a quarterly boxing program for its network.

Via Bad Left Hook:

Most likely this would be a series similar to Top Rank Live, which currently airs on FSN and Fox Deportes, as I wouldn’t expect Spike to be going in deep on money to produce big fights. At its best, Top Rank Live produces some very good shows with lower-weight fighters in action bouts, and gives looks at prospects like Mercito Gesta or Diego Magdaleno.

Payout Perspective:

This is an interesting move for Spike as it will have the UFC library and boxing this year with Bellator coming up next year. We will see how many boxing fans are out there that will tune in to watch. More importantly, how many casual fans are out there. For Top Rank, its a good step forward for exposure for its fighters as boxing is shuffled around in the schedule (similar to Bellator) on Fox Sports in favor of regional sports.

Fuel TV officially kicked off the new year by airing a 24-hour UFC marathon on New Years Day, followed by airing the debut of “UFC Tonight” on January 3rd.

The rating’s boost received by UFC programming was a much needed one for Fuel TV, as it embarks on a mission to increase it’s household reach, mostly through the demand generated from the UFC’s fanbase.

From Multichannel:

Fuel TV’s New Year’s Day 24-hour marathon of UFC programming helped the network generate its highest watched primetime block ever, said network officials.

The UFC programming — part of a seven-year deal between the mixed martial arts outfit and Fuel TV owner Fox Sports– also generated the second most watched day in network history, with the network’s total day average up +378% vs. the January 2011 Sunday average, according to Fuel Tv officials.

Fuel TV had its highest-watched Primetime night ever, up +493% vs. the 2011 Sunday average. The top show of the day was UFC Bad Blood at 7:00 p.m. ET. It was the fourth most-watched show on Fuel TV among Households since the network became nationally rated.

MMAJunkie has the ratings for the “UFC Tonight” debut on Fuel TV:

This week’s series debut of “UFC Tonight” earned 39,000 viewers on FUEL TV, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed with industry sources.

That’s nearly three times FUEL TV’s usual audience size, which averaged approximately 15,000 viewers in 2011.
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Still, FUEL TV remains a premium-subscription option on many cable platforms, and officials face an uphill battle in expanding the channel’s reach. A well-produced “Countdown to UFC 141″ special, for example, garnered just 15,000 viewers for its debut and 1,000 viewers for a subsequent replay – despite the Dec. 30 event being one of the UFC’s biggest shows of 2011.

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Payout Perspective:

It’s a step in the right direction for both the UFC and Fuel TV, but it’s apparent that this partnership will need to blossom within the next few years in order to benefit the UFC. The end game for Fuel TV is to get the UFC and MMA fanbase to pressure cable/satellite providers to carry Fuel TV in order to continue increasing the reach of the lowest rated cable network in 2011.

The next key date for Fuel TV will be February 15, when UFC on Fuel TV makes it’s debut from the 10,000-seat capacity Omaha Civic Auditorium in Nebraska. Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger are set as the main event while Dave Herman and Stefan Struve will meet in the night’s co-main event .

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Notes from the press releases:

- NYE UFC Marathon: Generated the second most watched day in network history, with the network’s total day average up +378% vs. the January 2011 Sunday average.

- NYE UFC Marathon: Fuel TV had its highest-watched Primetime night ever, up +493% vs. the 2011 Sunday average.

- NYE UFC Marathon: The top show of the day was UFC Bad Blood at 7:00 p.m. ET. It was the fourth most-watched show on Fuel TV among Households since the network became nationally rated.

- “UFC Tonight” Debut: The debut of “UFC Tonight” garnered 39,000 viewers on FUEL TV, nearly three times FUEL TV’s usual audience size, which averaged approximately 15,000 viewers in 2011.

- “Countdown to UFC 141″ special: Garnered just 15,000 viewers for its debut and 1,000 viewers for a subsequent replay – despite UFC 141 being one of the UFC’s biggest shows of 2011.

MMA Fighting reportsWWE wrestler CM Punk will accompany Chael Sonnen to the Octagon at UFC on Fox 2. Punk, a Chicago native and MMA fan, appeared on an episode of the MMA Hour last year talking about his admiration of mixed martial arts.

Payout Perspective:

Is the Punk appearance good for the UFC? Does Punk’s appearance muddy the lines between the UFC and WWE? Is it a sign of things to come with the new UFC-Fox relationship?

In the end, the Punk walkout may not be a big deal unless Fox picks up on it pre-fight. From a practical standpoint, the pairing of Punk and Sonnen will be an attraction for Chicago. It also makes sense because Punk’s character is anti-hero and Sonnen (in a way) mirrors that persona. But for the casual viewer tuning in for the first time, will they associate MMA with professional wrestling? From the WWE’s standpoint, its good, free publicity for its sport. Punk is becoming one of the top two or three wrestlers in the company and the appearance on network television can only help. Definitely, those anti-pro wrestling people cannot like the fact that the UFC is crossing over (again) into the world of pro-wrestling.

MMA Weekly reports that the UFC 141 Prelims garnered an average of 1.8 million viewers in its last live showing on Spike TV. Overall, the UFC Prelims averaged 1.41 million viewers on Spike TV.

UFC 141 was the highest rated prelim show on Spike TV since UFC 126 when it received 2.0 million viewers.

Payout Perspective:

A very good ending to what has been a tumultuous relationship the past year. The ratings are very good considering the change in days. Perhaps pushing back the PPV time, and the prelim time, also helped with the good ratings. The Brock Lesnar factor may have assisted as well.

Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This time we look at a special Friday night event from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada which featured Brock Lesnar versus Alistair Overeem.

Overeem kicks Lesnar into retirement

There’s a reason why Lesnar went off as the underdog in Vegas. It was uncertain how Lesnar would do considering he came back from diverticulitis once again. The fight was a no contest for Overeem as one kick to the gut and Lesnar was done for the night.

Classy speech by Lesnar at the end of the fight. It was the right thing to do as his last two fights have been very disappointing. For Overeem, JDS is next in what should be one of the bigger cards of 2012.

Diaz boxes out Cowboy

A lot of trash talk before made this co-main event something to watch. Indeed it was the most interesting match of the night. Diaz used the “stockton slap” as the Cowboy just stood in front of him in the first round. Cerrone used some leg sweeps to score some points but did little actual damage to Diaz.

An impressive outing for Diaz as he’s moving up in the lightweight division albeit he came in at 157 pounds.

Hendricks knocks out Fitch

Johnny Hendricks left hand was lethal as he flirted with the UFC’s fastest KO record with a knockout of Jon Fitch. A disappointing end for Fitch who was coming back from shoulder surgery. The stoppage was warranted as Fitch went limp and Hendricks was right on top to deliver more punishment if he the fight wasn’t stop.

Hendricks puts himself in line for a title shot. He’s not in the express line to a shot but is definitely someone that should be taking a step forward in the next year.

Attendance and Gate

MMA Junkie reports that UFC 141 drew a reported 12,158 fans for a reported $3.1 million gate. The figures, as custom, were given by Dana White at the post-fight press conference. The numbers fall well short of the top 5 draws in MGM Grand history but it did much better than last year’s UFC 125.

Bonuses

The bonuses were $75,000 each and went to Johnny Hendricks, Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone. Hendricks was the obvious choice for KO of the night while Diaz and Cerrone earned fight of the night honors. There were no submissions so no sub of the night.

Countdown to UFC 141 debuted on Fuel TV a week before the event and garnered a poor 15,000 viewers. Hopefully, the January 1st UFC marathon helped with marketing of the network as the new place for the UFC.

Salaries were released earlier than normal by the Nevada State Athletic Commission because lawyers for Golden Glory obtained an order to garnish the salary of Alistair Overeem. Of no surprise, Brock Lesnar topped the list. Overeem was set to earn $385K but was asked to garnish roughly 30%. However, it was revealed Monday that no bond was posted to garnish the salary as required by Nevada law. So, Overeem was able to receive all of his earnings. This will make the litigation between Overeem and Golden Glory much more contentious.

Sponsorships

Clothing brand RYU and wireless service provider MetroPCS became sponsors of the UFC this month. RYU was a sponsor to the “backstage camera” and MetroPCS had signage in the Octagon. RYU also sponsored Jon Fitch. Unfortunately for Fitch, the RYU walkout shirt was seen much more than on his shorts as the fight lasted just 12 seconds.

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With the addition of MetroPCS and Gina Carano’s new movie, “Haywire,” the regular sponsors (SafeAuto, TapouT, Harley Davidson, Toyo Tires, Bud Light) were in the Octagon. Speaking of Haywire, Carano was in attendance and was interviewed about the movie.

Harley Davidson pumped up its Hometown Throwdown contest again.

MusclePharm had a special graphic shown during the tale of the tape before Overeem and Lesnar.

The Cowboy has used his hat to put sponsors on each side of the hat in the past and now he’s used under the brim. Way to use the real estate. Maybe that’s why he got so upset that Diaz flicked it off his head.

Jimy Hettes had sponsors AzadWatch.com and Palooka.com as sponsors. I noticed these two sponsors since they were on the back of his fight shorts and maintained dominant position on Nam Pham most of their match. Good placement for the two sponsors.

It was announced prior to UFC 141, that Lesnar signed an endorsement deal with Everlast. I wonder what impact his retirement will have on the deal?

Post-UFC 141 Headlines

Lesnar retires, what now?

With the retirement of Brock Lesnar, the UFC lost its top PPV draw. A Lesnar card meant 1 million PPV buys was a certainty. With his departure, and the absence of GSP for most of the year and Anderson Silva out until at least June, the UFC is in a precarious PPV position as its lost its top three stars for the first half of 2012. Jon Jones could be the next PPV breakout star.

But, perhaps as when teams go without its star, it makes the rest of the team stronger and better. This can be a time that the UFC can build up its existing stars (Jones, Edgar, Diaz). Of course, Rashad Evans is another top PPV draw but will be on the Fox broadcast on January 28th. His next fight (fingers crossed) will likely be the long-awaited bout with Jon Jones sometime this summer (maybe Memorial Day weekend). What will the PPV buys look like in the first half of the year?

Young fighters impress

Jimy Hettes and Alexander Gustafsson made statements in their fights on the main card of the PPV. Hettes was impressive in his fight with Nam Phan and Gustafsson took care of the Vladimir Matyushenko. Both of these guys look to be moving up the ranks of their respective divisions.

Odds and ends

-Why no Joe Rogan post-fight interview for Jimy Hettes? He deserved some mic time.

-After Diaz flipped Cerrone’s cowboy hat earlier in the week, Diaz gave Cerrone his beanie after their fight. It looked like Diaz wanted Cerrone to give him his cowboy hat kind of like an exchange of opponent jerseys in soccer.

-The last live event on Spike occurred with little or no mention that the UFC-Spike relationship was ending. Of course, if you are Spike, you are still showing the UFC library so why mention it.

-I was in Canada last week and noticed Rogers giving a top 5 of Lesnar’s greatest fights. It was interesting to me that the number 1 moment was his win over Frank Mir and they showed his infamous rant after the fight (“going to have a Coors Light because Bud doesn’t pay me” and “get on his wife” comments). That’s something they would not play in the US anymore.

PPV issues

This was the first time that XBox users could purchase a UFC events through its XBox Live platform. As a promotion for this, XBox gave away 30,000 free PPV passes to watch the event.  Unfortunately, technical difficulties destroyed the opportunity for anyone to access the UFC on XBox. To make amends, the UFC promised all that purchased the event on XBox, it would be able to see another UFC event for free. The problem with this, is that consumers are now weary of this method of watching the PPV and less likely to use this platform. We see that there are some glitches in the system and the UFC must fix them, restore trust and address this PR problem as well.

In addition to the XBox problem, I received notice that Rogers in Ontario, Canada had technical difficulties as well. People that purchased the PPV were refunded money as the cable operator acknowledged the problems.

These problems do not bode well for the overall viewership of the PPV. Even with Lesnar at the top of the card, the final number could have been better but for these issues.

The number one business story of the year was the UFC-Fox deal as mixed martial arts entered the mainstream with its 7 year, $90 million television rights deal.

The deal was an upgrade from its $35 million a year deal with Spike TV. The longtime relationship between the UFC-Spike relationship deteriorated this year with passive aggressive moves. Spike debuted UFC 132’s Countdown show during the middle of the day instead of its usual primetime placement. It also counterprogrammed UFC’s live Versus card in June with a marathon featuring main eventer (at the time) Nate Marquardt. And, of course, there is the issue of the UFC library rights.

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Fox immediately marketed the UFC’s November 12th debut with promos during MLB and NFL games. It also ran its UFC Primetime show on an NFL Sunday to encouraging ratings.

The UFC on Fox Payout Perspective details the huge ratings Fox received for the 1 hour program which featured approximately 1 minute of actual fight action. It was the most watched UFC event ever.

FOX TV Rating Breakdown (Quarterly):

- UFC on FOX (9:00 pm-9:15 pm): 5.25 million viewers

-UFC on FOX (9:15 pm-9:30 pm): 5.48 million viewers

-UFC on FOX (9:30 pm-9:45 pm): 7.09 million viewers

-UFC on FOX (9:45 pm-10:00 pm): 4.88 million viewers

- Overall: Average of 5.7M viewers watched the fight live or via DVR playback within the same day. (Nielsen)

Via UFC press release:

The hour-long UFC on FOX premiere scored a 3.1/5 household rating/share, with 5.7 million viewers making it the most-watched UFC event ever and the most-watched professional fight of any kind on any network since 2003 when 7.0 million tuned in to watch Lewis-Klitschko on HBO.  Velasquez-dos Santo is also the highest-rated and most-watched professional fight of any kind on a broadcast network for OSCAR DE LA HOYA’S FIGHT NIGHT on FOX. (4.3/6, 5.9 million viewers) in 1998.

FOXSports.com, one of the world’s leading sports web sites with almost 30 million unique visitors monthly, also delivered substantial viewing for UFC-related video.  On Saturday, FOXSports.com tallied an impressive 257,000 total live streams for the nine undercard matches, while all UFC content during and around the event generated over 1 million streams.  Other than Super Bowl-related content, this was the biggest video event in FOXSports.com history.

The number of live streams on FOXSports.com is notable as its not usual that we see these numbers for the UFC Facebook streams. It shows the impressive numbers the UFC put up on multiple platforms.

In addition to Fox and online, Fuel TV and Fox Deportes had solid ratings for the UFC’s debut. Spike TV also put up huge numbers as it played past UFC fights of JDS and Cain opposite UFC on Fox.

We will see how the UFC-Fox relationship does in its first full year. UFC on Fox 2 is set for January 28th and Spike TV is set to counter as well. It will be interesting to see how the UFC will do on Fuel and FX. We’ve already seen a potential problem with Fuel TV as the UFC 141 Countdown show only garnered 15,000 viewers for its debut. Hopefully for Fuel TV, its January 1 UFC marathon will raise awareness that it is the new home for UFC programming.

MMA Junkie reports that UFC 141 Countdown garnered just 15,000 viewers on FUEL TV. A replay of the show the same night at 1am ET/10pm PT garnered a dismal 1,000 viewers.

The 15,000 viewers received a 0.03 household rating rating among men 18-49 and a 0.0 among men 18-34.

UFC 141 aired the week of Christmas and one week before the event. It primarily focused on Alistair Overeem, Brock Lesnar, Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone.

The disparity in the number of homes that receives Fuel may be an ongoing issue as Spike, Countdown’s old home, is in 100 million homes while Fuel is in only 36 million.

Payout Perspective:

Dismal ratings for a pretty good Countdown show which did a good job in introducing the casual viewer to Alistair Overeem. However, the holidays, the early showing of the show and its new spot on Fuel Television may have contributed to such low ratings. We’ll see in 2012 how the UFC and Fox deal with this issue if the low ratings persist.

Viacom purchased a majority stake in Bellator this fall and announced that it would move its newest purchase to Spike TV in 2013.

With the UFC looking for a new network dance partner most of 2011, many believed that Bellator would make the move to Spike. The purchase of Bellator confirmed the speculation.

Spike TV has the rights to the UFC library through 2012 and it was thought that Zuffa would purchase the library from Spike but that notion has died down. Spike.com began airing the preliminary fights of Bellator events this year as well.

Ironically, Dana White embraced the Viacom move as the UFC believed that the purchase would ease an FTC investigation and any notion of Zuffa monopolizing the MMA industry. Instead, White described the UFC as a “mom and pop” in comparison to Viacom.

With the Viacom acquisition, it will be interesting to see how much of an investment it puts into Bellator on Spike. Talent acquisitions, production for Bellator programming and marketing should be at the top of the list for improvement for the organization.

Fuel TV will officially kick off the new year by airing a 24-hour marathon of UFC programming on New Years Day, which will feature five show premieres. This will also officially kickoff the partnership between Fuel TV and the UFC, which Fuel claims will air more UFC programming than any network ever.

FUEL TV (http://www.fuel.tv), FOX Sports Media Group’s dynamic entertainment and sports network for males, officially kicks off the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) on FUEL TV January 1 with a 24-hour marathon of UFC programming featuring five show premieres. In 2012, FUEL TV telecasts more than 2,000 hours of UFC programming, with more than 100 hours of live fights, weigh-ins, preliminary bouts, and pre- and post-fight shows. In the New Year, FUEL TV offers more UFC programming than any network has ever offered.

“We’re beyond excited for the monster launch of the UFC on FUEL TV and can’t wait for the ball to drop on New Year’s so we can finally unveil all this incredible programming,” says George Greenberg, FUEL TV Executive Vice President and General Manager. “On January 1, FUEL TV becomes the number-one television destination for UFC fans. We’re going to deliver amazing live fights, FOX-style pre- and post-fight shows with expert commentary, insightful news shows with exclusive material and powerful documentaries that followers of the UFC have never seen before.”

“We’re excited that FUEL TV will become the ultimate destination for UFC programming in 2012,” says Dana White, UFC President. “We knew when we made the partnership with the FOX Sports Media Group that FUEL TV would allow us to put on more programming than every other network. If you’re a fan of the UFC, you’ve got to have FUEL TV.”

In addition to five shows premiering on January 1, FUEL TV launches “UFC Tonight,” the official news and information show of the UFC hosted by Todd Harris, on Tuesday, January 3 at 10:00 PM ET. The first Live UFC Weigh-in (UFC RIO™: ALDO vs. MENDES) is Friday, January 13 at 1:00 PM ET, followed by the first Post-Fight Show on Saturday, January 14 at 1:00AM ET. FUEL TV features the first Preliminary Bouts for UFC® on FX: GUILLARD vs. MILLER on Friday, January 20 at 6:00 PM ET.

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 LIVE UFC Programs on FUEL TV in January:

January 13, 1:00 PM ET
Live UFC Weigh-in: UFC RIO™: ALDO vs. MENDES
UFC’s biggest and baddest stars weigh-in and face-off live before a night of epic battles inside the Octagon.

January 14, 1:00 AM ET
UFC on FUEL TV: Post-Fight Show – UFC RIO™: ALDO vs. MENDES
Jay Glazer and today’s top MMA analysts recap the night’s bouts, serve up exclusive fighter interviews, and talk about ‘what’s next’ for the winners and losers after the big fight in this one-hour show.

 January 19, 5:00 PM ET
Live UFC Weigh-in: UFC® on FX: GUILLARD vs. MILLER
UFC’s biggest and baddest stars weigh-in and face-off Live before a night of epic battles inside the Octagon®.

January 20, 6:00 PM ET
UFC on FUEL TV: Preliminary Bouts – UFC® on FX: GUILLARD vs. MILLER
Witness the next generation of UFC stars rise as FUEL TV kicks off a night of unforgettable action, featuring three hours of MMA’s hungriest and most promising fighters. If you want to see the battles that make up-and-coming fighters into household names, you don’t want to miss the prelims on FUEL TV.

January 20, 11:00 PM ET
UFC on FUEL TV: Post-Fight Show – UFC® on FX: GUILLARD vs. MILLER

 January 27, 5:00 PM ET
Live UFC Weigh-in: UFC on FOX

January 28, 5:00 PM ET
UFC on FUEL TV: Preliminary Bouts – UFC on FOX

 January 28, 10:00 PM ET
UFC on FUEL TV: Post-Fight Show – UFC on FOX

January 31, 9:00 PM ET
Countdown to UFC® 143: DIAZ vs. CONDIT

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NOTE: Fuel TV’s New Year UFC marathon will repeat the above mentioned programing (8 hours block) for the entire day.

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Payout Perspective:

This will be a great way for Fuel TV to kickoff the New Years and celebrate the recently signed TV deal with the UFC. Fuel TV is a network who’s sole purpose is to draw young males by airing entertainment and sports programming geared towards that demographic.  A deal with the UFC stands to benefit Fuel TV greatly, as it hopes to increase it’s reach from the 36 million homes that was previously estimated before signing the TV deal with the UFC.  Since then, Dana White claims that the channel has increased it’s reach by 11% and that now 38 million homes have access to the channel. Yahoo Sports reports:

“I think that was part of Fox’s strategy in signing the UFC. They’ve gone up 11 percent since we signed the deal with Fox, and they’re in 38 million homes.”
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While White is confident that more cable and satellite providers will add Fuel, it won’t hurt for fans to call and politely ask for it.
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“I think it’s already happening. The announcements that we made have people [expletive] at their cable companies since we made the announcement.”

Besides being in about 62 million homes less than Spike TV, Fuel and FOX are banking on the UFC’s popularity and their hardcore loyal fanbase to make the switch from Spike and increase the channel’s reach and low ratings.  That task will not be an easy one in 2012, as Spike TV will still own the UFC’s library which prevents Fuel TV from airing any UFC programming that has already aired on Spike TV until the deal ends in 2013.  Even more daunting, Spike TV plans to use UFC programming to counter-program future UFC on FOX, FX, and Fuel TV events by featuring fighters that those platforms will already be promoting for those events. Spike retaining the UFC library throughout next year only makes it that much harder for Fuel TV gain traction with UFC fans, who most consider the UFC to be synonymous with Spike. Until the library rights are given back to the UFC, it will give a number of MMA fans many reasons to delay the inevitable transition to the FOX platforms to catch live UFC programming outside of PPV events.

Just last week, Spike TV announced “Ultimate Fridays”, which will feature the best of TUF to directly counter-program the new seasons of TUF on FX.  It also previously announced that they would counter-program UFC on FOX 2, which they also did for UFC on FOX: Velasquez vs Dos Santos – the UFC’s network debut on FOX. According to Spike, the programming they put around the FOX event on Spike TV did very well rating’s wise, averaging around 800k-900k viewers.

All things considered, business is business for the Viacom owned network. Spike TV President Kevin Kay said it best in a recent interview with Sherdog:

“The deal [is] there’s a tail-end year of the library, and we pay for it. And we pay a good price for it. So we have to use it, and we’d be foolish not to use it…That’s our job. Our job is to use this library and monetize it.”