It was expected that numbers might drop a bit when UFC programming switched from Spike to FX. The first prelims special that aired on the network, for UFC 142, played that out to a degree. But the sky isn't exactly falling. MMA Weekly has the numbers:
The UFC 142 Rio Prelims, which aired four bouts live on FX, drew just 880,000 viewers, which is the least watched UFC Prelims broadcast since the series began on Spike TV with UFC 103 in 2009.
That's kind of a half-truth though. Yes, the UFC 142 prelims did draw less viewers than any of the Spike episodes. But their article fails to mention the three prelims specials that aired on Ion. UFC 125, UFC 127 and UFC 140 all aired on that network, and all did worse ratings than this show (829k, 808k, and 714k respectively).
So what does this mean? Absolutely nothing, really. It just shows that a lot of people are still interested in watching the prelims, and that's not a bad first number at all in my eyes.
0 recs | 69 comments
The playoffs hurt this aswell
Imo
rscott94 - January 18, 2012 via mobile
Yep
Afrotikiman - January 18, 2012 via mobile
TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW
SSreporters - January 18, 2012
Patriots vs Tebow drew over 30 million
You bet your ass the playoffs hurt these prelims.
Tim Bernier - January 18, 2012
It also started at the end of the Giants-49ers game
HaterSlayer - January 19, 2012
Saints/49ers
Tim Bernier - January 19, 2012
it just needs more time settling in
daftshadow - January 19, 2012
That’s also 880k viewers before the real marketing push of UFC on FX has kicked in. Once some time goes by and the UFC and Fox are able to push it into the minds of the audience that Fox, FX, and Fuel are the new homes for UFC programming, the numbers will easily surpass those that were seen on Spike.
dropkick101 - January 18, 2012
Yeah, this was the first bit of UFC programming on FX
And it’s not like these prelims had very interesting and big names fighters…prelims typically don’t
Also, 2 hours hurts the average…it’s better because you get better fights….but there are some that will only tune in for the guys they knew, like Gonzaga and Stout in the 2nd hour…so the lower ratings for the first half hurt the overall average…I’d imagine.
Once we start getting FX cards, Ultimate Fighter, and Primetime shows on FX…the numbers will be be.
Chris Groves - January 18, 2012
will be big*
Chris Groves - January 18, 2012
Also it went against the NFL playoffs and I'm not even sure people are used to UFC not being on Spike
They got to get the word out more so advertising on the NFL, FSN, and FOX in general is a great idea.
SSreporters - January 18, 2012
Yes. Also 142 as a whole was never going to be a huge card, there were a lot people saying they’d skip it because it was weak on paper. Maybe they skipped the prelims too? Not sure if there is such a correlation but it certainly can’t help.
Horselover Fat - January 18, 2012
They are still having to remind people that they are no longer on SpikeTV
Give it awhile and things should improve. Now if the Miller Guillard card pulls this not so good man not so good.
MaZZacare - January 18, 2012
Guillard vs. Miller is going to do terrible ratings
Even if it was on Spike I have no doubt the ratings would suck.
SSreporters - January 18, 2012
You might be the most perpetually optimistic poster on here.
Chris Groves - January 18, 2012
Might not do great
But I like the fact that they’re treating this as a long-term proposition and aren’t immediately trying to pull out all the stops. Viewership will rise over time given the saturation of advertising on Fox networks.
Patrick Wyman - January 18, 2012
Oh absolutely
That’s why it will be a slow process for the FX shows.
SSreporters - January 18, 2012
I think that if it was on Spike it would get at least 2 million viewers
Fox is hardly promoting this card(I don’t generally watch FX, but I watch Fox a lot) so this is gonna get about half the ratings a Fight Night card usually gets.
HaterSlayer - January 19, 2012
educate me
with the new deal, can you say that
FX= Spike?
Fuel= Versus?
in terms of availability, viewers etc.
the guy with the big nose - January 18, 2012
It's a much different situation
Since Spike and Versus weren’t under the same umbrella, like FX and Fuel are, but the comparison isn’t a bad one. FX is a big step up from Spike, both in terms of viewership and cachet, while Fuel is a step down. The programming on Fuel is much different than what they offered on Versus, though.
Patrick Wyman - January 18, 2012
I know I sound like Dana’s shill but the UFC programing on Fuel is way better than Spike had. They have the weigh-ins, post fight shows, best of Pride, Unleashed, and the airing of old UFC ppvs are all awesome. Add in the international TUFs and the cards that will be free on Fuel, I’m glad I’m one of the 9 people who get the channel.
Pillowhands - January 18, 2012 via iPhone app
It’s been pretty awesome so far, I’m building a recorded collection of PPVs. The production values are so much better as well.
Patrick Wyman - January 18, 2012
But the cross-promotion will be so much better
FX and Fuel play nice, so you’ll see each other’s shows promo’d intensely, since they’re all part of the same corporate structure. It won’t take long for the average UFC viewer to fall into new habits about which channels have UFC programming.
duck - January 19, 2012
Fuel has about 1/3 of the availability of Spike right now, and is a very, very obscure channel to most. They’ve added 10 million subscribers since the UFC/Fox deal, so that’s a good sign. FX is close to on par with Spike in terms of availiability (I think it’s 98 million for Spike, 90 million for FX). FX has carved a niche with quality programming, which is more than Spike has done. In the long run, I think the UFC will do better on FX. The Fuel stuff will take a while though.
Tim Burke - January 18, 2012
When I looked around
I think I remember consistently seeing that FX was a bit above Spike in viewership.
For Spike I kept hearing ‘Around 90-100 million’ and the number that kept coming up for FX was ‘Over 100 million’
But they are definitely close.
Versus was in around 75 million, from what I could gather.
Chris Groves - January 18, 2012
I recall Spike having the slight edge
but the more significant edge was on viewer familiarity and demographics, which Spike has in spades. Spike was like a perfect storm for the UFC and it will take a while for the multiple platform concept to meet and surpass it.
Stiff Jab - January 19, 2012
Playoffs, new channel, little casual fan interest in the PPV
Lower numbers are to be expected.
simpsycho - January 18, 2012
But that's the thing
They’re not that much lower.
duck - January 19, 2012
They're about half as high as they usually are.
The Prelims usually get ~1.7-2 million viewers.
HaterSlayer - January 19, 2012
I feel like they skew lower on average
2 million was the highest one…
Chris Groves - January 19, 2012
I think availability is a key problem, notably for non-US contries (who don't have DirectTV, example: Canada)
In Canada, Fuel is not available (thanks to the CRTC), so I guess they’re shooting themselves in the foot trying to cram that channel with UFC content.
FX, is also less available than Spike in Canada.
While RogerSportsnet-ONE shows prelims and some events (nowhere near the content on Fuel + FX), it is still not available to subscribers for many major Canadian cable company (Videotron).
For now, their changes in networks have a negative impact on the number of potential viewers (and as a Canadian fan, it pisses me off).
Is the situation similar for other non-US countries ?
aTn - January 18, 2012
Of course FUEL is not available in Canada
Your mode of transportation is the sled…..
SSreporters - January 18, 2012
Rocket sled baby
Stiff Jab - January 19, 2012
There was a list posted somewhere the other day
about where people from different countries can watch all the fights (channels that is)
AfroSamurai - January 18, 2012
Korea
The TV channels didnt change. One Channel shows old fights/highlight packages and one shows the live fights. All of my friends have it with basic cable. I do not know the house hold availability.
Fludbucket - January 18, 2012
They don't broadcast UFC at all in the Netherlands..
Luckily they compensate with PPV, which costs only $6.99
Chris P. Bacon - January 19, 2012
Just ber happy you have it on TV
In the UK, we have to use UFC.tv and the quality for 142 was nothing short of awful.
YPG - January 19, 2012
A lot of people didnt know what channel. my dad called me the next day asking why they werent on, he looked for it on spike
mpk46 - January 18, 2012 via mobile
I was in a massive bar/restaurant that probably had 300 people in it, many of whom were looking to watch the UFC in addition tot the Pats-Broncos game. I had to tell the management that the prelims were on FX as they were looking for it on Spike.
dropkick101 - January 18, 2012
Yeah I managed to get my bar to put it on FX after constant nagging (missed the Pyle KO)
but the idiots forgot to put the fucking PPV on when 7pm came around and I couldn’t find the manager to tell him. I ended up going home to watch on my Xbox.
Rob Young - January 18, 2012
Be Interesting to see what happens when the UFC's UK deal runs out
With La Liga and the PGA Tour to consider (among other things) I don’t think we’ll get live prelims if the UFC goes to Sky. ALthough it will be nice to have everything (PPV, FOX, TUF, FX, Fuel) under one umbrella.
MattParker117 - January 18, 2012
Thanks for the absolutely meaningless update
smoogy2 - January 18, 2012
Anytime. Keep up the good work on your guest posts.
Tim Burke - January 18, 2012
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the real comparison to make is how similar FX programming performs on the same night. For example, the ratings for this prelim broadcast are right in the same range as recent college football games on Saturday night on FX.
smoogy2 - January 18, 2012
There is no “similar programming”. You can’t just compare other sports offhand because they’re not covering the same demographic.
Tim Burke - January 18, 2012
I think you can compare time slots with and without UFC
For instance, if the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter gets better ratings than whatever FX usually airs on Friday nights (and I have no idea what that is), that’s a positive sign.
More important, though, these prelims provide a baseline number: Live UFC fights drew 880,000 viewers the first time they were on FX. Given that both the UFC and the Fox executives are promising to work hard at promoting the UFC on FX, and given that the UFC on FX is likely to never again have competition as stiff as Broncos-Patriots, future UFC on FX ratings should climb significantly. If they do climb significantly, that’s a good sign. If they don’t, that’s a bad sign.
MichaelDavidSmith - January 18, 2012
Agreed. I think the comparison to programming in the same time slot is a good metric because that tends to be one of the ways the programming’s value is determined by the broadcaster
smoogy2 - January 19, 2012
Exactly
thats exactly how Fox execs are looking at the numbers
Stiff Jab - January 19, 2012
I did a quick google search and came up with this (from September 21, 2011):
Syracuse/USC Up 50% From Previous Week: FX drew 690,000 viewers for the Syracuse/USC college football game Saturday night, up 50% from an afternoon game the previous week (NEV/ORE: 460K). USC’s win did not finish too far behind ESPN2′s Utah/BYU telecast, which aired in a slightly later timeslot (879K). (The Voice of TV)
http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2011/09/ratings-college-football-on-fx-wnba-playoffs-indycar-from-japan/
zorba - January 18, 2012
Yep. Different demographics but this is the new paradigm UFC programming is in for now. It isn’t like with Spike where they were truly the flagship of the entire channel.
smoogy2 - January 19, 2012
Not a football fan at all, but I know something big was going down.
What was it?
kreally - January 18, 2012
NFL playoffs
SSreporters - January 18, 2012
The crucification of Tebus Christ.
Sugel Mendoza - January 19, 2012
Jose Aldo's still growing as a star.
I highly doubt this PPV did greater than 200 K buys.
kreally - January 18, 2012
Too many things going on that night
NFL playoffs. First Lakers vs. Clippers game of the year.
av1o3 - January 18, 2012
and let’s not forget to blame Kid Nate…
Victor Rodriguez - January 18, 2012
Really?
Cause I kinda blame Brookhouse…
kreally - January 18, 2012
nope
always blame Kid Nate…
thats the rule
Andy Anderson - January 18, 2012
Fuck.
Drop that number down to 150K. I think it would be best to get Aldo to defend his belt on the next UFC on Fox card. Get some more casual fan recognition before having him hold a card on his shoulders.
kreally - January 18, 2012
I'd agree but i think they are gonna hold off with title shots on Fox
and rather keep fox for #1 contender bouts
AfroSamurai - January 18, 2012
I at least hope the first flyweight title fight is part of a Fox card.
kreally - January 18, 2012
I think it should be but i doubt it
But maybe they’ll give it a go on FX or definitely Fuel lol to piss you guys off. Luckily i’m on a military base and get all the fights for free :)
AfroSamurai - January 18, 2012
Dana'd have to be drunk off his fucking ass to put a title fight on Fuel.
I don’t know how well the UFC on Fuel will do. I’m estimating 200 K viewers at the most.
kreally - January 18, 2012
I honestly wonder if Fuel gets such low ratings because so few people know about it or because its content sucks ass.
kreally - January 18, 2012
I cant be bothered to pay 6 dollars more a month for just one channel Fuel. I can almost get HBO or showtime for that much
terzergoss - January 18, 2012
These numbers are great considering the playoff games that were going on at the same time.
Patrick Tenney - January 18, 2012
My friends who are fairly big fans
All missed the PPV for Tebowmania. Thats what happens sometimes
Stiff Jab - January 19, 2012
Football + FX (which many people, including me, don’t have) pushed down that number, but 880K is actually pretty good in that context.
kenpoboy67 - January 19, 2012
This sucks
I was hoping it would get monster ratings so we’d get 2 hour long prelims on FX. I don’t have Fuel so this bombing on the network sucks for me :(
HaterSlayer - January 19, 2012
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