Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The second effort by the UFC on Fox was rather inconsistent in action and had many people wondering how the ratings would look. The overnight numbers are in and they are quite interesting.
FOX easily cruised to victory in adults 18-49 with two hours of UFC on FOX 2 with a fight card headlined by Evans vs. Davis. Again, these numbers are far more likely to be adjusted (and adjusted up) than normal due to the nature of live programming. But in the preliminary non time zone adjusted numbers the fight card averaged a 2.2 adults 18-49 rating between 8-10p and 4.37 million viewers.
As they said, the numbers will be adjusted up in the final numbers but it's entirely fair to compare this directly to the overnight ratings of the first Fox show.
The first show had overnights of a 2.5 rating and 7 share in the 18-49 demographic with 4.64 million viewers (source) for the one hour broadcast. By comparison, hour one of last night's show had a 2.0 rating and 6 share with 3.98 million viewers while hour two went up to a 2.5 rating, 7 share and 4.77 million viewers. I have no doubt that the slow intro to the show combined with a fairly horrible first fight led to a lot of people tuning out until the main event, which would explain the big gain in the second hour.
It's clear that the very short fight in the debut show didn't chase off all the viewers at the very least.
0 recs | 20 comments
Looking forward to seeing what the numbers look like after they factor in the west coast.
Geno Mrosko - January 29, 2012
three non-exciting fights. meh.
NastyGuido - January 29, 2012
THEFILMGUY - January 29, 2012
The FUEL TV card kicked the crap outta the FOX card in terms of dopeness.
RolloTomasi - January 29, 2012
+8.23
NastyGuido - January 29, 2012
I fgured they would pull a 3-4 million the numbers seem solid and like you said will go up
Maybe the “casual” isn’t such a whimp when it comes to a boring fight after all.
MaZZacare - January 29, 2012
Weren't they hoping for 9 or 10 million?
IKiIIed007 - January 29, 2012
Yeah, I think ultimately these will be disappointing if you focus on the kind of crazy expectations that were out there to get it near 10 mil. But encouraging if you’re living in a bit more of a “real world” place where even just a slight increase from last time is a big plus.
Brent Brookhouse - January 29, 2012
Yeah I think the UFC and Fox realise this is going to be a long haul and that it’s unlikely there will be another instant success like Griffin\Bonnar.
UncleMax - January 29, 2012
Hoping for? Maybe
But I don’t think anyone realistically expected 9 or 10 million. I think Fox is hoping that every Saturday night that it shows the UFC it wins the time slot among the 18-49 demographic, and these numbers are good enough to do that this time. During college football season these numbers wouldn’t be good enough to beat a big game head-to-head, though.
MichaelDavidSmith - January 29, 2012
That's overall, not the 18-49 demographic
Chromium - January 29, 2012
The real ratings test will be PPV buys
If Sonnen/Silva 2 and Evans/Jones do amazing numbers, it will validate this show regardless of how many people actually tuned in on Fox. Both of those fights would be huge anyways, but if they really exceed expectations then the UFC will know the Fox experiment is working.
MS_Dos_Santos - January 29, 2012
Absolutely.
The whole reason the UFC made the FOX deal is so they can introduce the sport to a larger audience. After a few more FOX TV events, you can expect their PPV figures to rocket.
@KatanaClothing - January 29, 2012
That's the goal
The jury is still out on whether it’s going to succeed. I don’t think there are more people clamoring for Sonnen-Silva or Evans-Jones today than there were yesterday.
MichaelDavidSmith - January 29, 2012
I had a friend who is a casual mma fan miss the Fox fights cuz he watched whatever ufc content Spike was counter programming with. Wonder how many other casuals did the same.
ANance - January 29, 2012 via mobile
Spike won’t be able to do that forever.
UncleMax - January 29, 2012
I would not think to many ? I can see a casual fan doing that when a fuel or FX card is on but a FOX show. IT’s not like Fox is hidden on some cable Ch in the 300’s now
Shocbomb - January 29, 2012
Even though people choose to tune into the Spike programmes
UFC content is still getting airtime and converting casual fans into hardcore fans. It’s a win-win situation for the UFC really. What would have been worse, if Spike were showing the fights of a rival promotion and still getting good viewing figures.
@KatanaClothing - January 29, 2012
This article really, really needs to highlight the 18-49 demographic part in neon lights
And that it’s not the overall viewership. I know that 18-49 males is what the UFC and Fox really want, and the ones that the UFC attract the most of, but the biggest numbers, the ones tossed around in proper press releases, are for the entire viewership. The first show UFC on Fox show averaged 5.7 million million viewers with a peak of 8.8 million for the fight. The only number we ever here about is that 8.8 million number. Just fyi the people that watch by far the most television are senior citizens and people 18-49 are disproportionately under-represented.
Anyway comparing this two hour show to a one hour show with the World Heavyweight Title, the fact that Demian Maia and Chris Weidman didn’t drive away viewers, and that we’re just comparing the numbers we have available, which is the 18-49 demographic, I think the show did quite respectably. It barely was down at all from the first show and should be seen as an overall improvement.
That being said I hope next show they open with a match that’s simply guaranteed to be fun on paper, I don’t care if it’s not a terribly relevant match-up.
Chromium - January 29, 2012
Miller vs Diaz fits both bills
Almost guaranteed to be fun and relevant to boot.
wonderfulspam - January 29, 2012
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