TUF 7 Rating - Week 7

This week's episode of the Ultimate Fighter on Spike drew a 1.0 rating (1.3 million viewers). The program drew quarter hours of 0.88 0.99, 0.93, and 1.19. The key demographic numbers were a 1.09 in M18-49 and a 1.18 in M18-34.

For the season TUF 7 is averaging a 1.07 household rating and a 1.6 in M18-34. Those numbers are down -4.7% and up 6.6% from last season respectively.

Strikeforce on NBC 5/4 Rating

MMAPayout.com has learned that the 5/4 edition of Strikeforce Saturday Night drew a 0.5 rating (537,000 viewers) on NBC. The program was the 23rd highest rated sports program on network television for the week. The top rated sports broadcast of the week was the Kentucky Derby on NBC which drew a 8.8 rating. The program's lead-in, Poker After Dark, drew a 0.7 rating.

For some perspective, 537,000 viewers is nearly twice the audience that saw Showtime's 3/29 broadcast of the EliteXC-Strikeforce event featuring Frank Shamrock v. Cung Le. That event drew 287,000 viewers. However, some inside the industry have questioned the quality of the late night audience, the theory being that at 2AM there may be more television sets "watching" than actual attentive people.

Iron Ring Ratings Update

The 4/22 episode of Iron Ring drew a 0.74 rating (804,000 viewers) on BET according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. On 4/29 the series drew a 0.7 rating (578,000 viewers), its lowest number to date. Based on the limited rating information available, the series is averaging an approximately 0.76 rating.

The most interesting rating phenomenon surrounding Iron Ring is its demographic breakdown. The series has an unusually high percentage of women viewers for an MMA or pro wrestling program. The numbers in that demographic are actually on par with The Ultimate Fighter. The show has also shown remarkable strength in the teenage demographics where according to the Wrestling Observer it probably beats all other shows in the category except WWE Raw or Smackdown.

TUF 7 Rating - Week 6

This week's episode of the Ultimate Fighter on Spike drew a 1.0 rating (1.2 million viewers). The program drew quarter hours of 0.93, 1.1, 0.96, and 1.06. The key demographic numbers were a 1.20 in M18-49 and a 1.34 in M18-34.

Strikeforce on NBC 4/27 Rating

MMAPayout.com has learned that the 4/27 edition of Strikeforce Saturday Night drew a 0.4 rating on NBC. The program was the 28th highest rated sports program on network television for the week ending 4/27. The top rated sports broadcast of the week was NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing from Talladega on FOX which drew a 5.7 rating.

TUF 7 Rating - Week 5

MMAPayout.com has learned that this week's episode of the Ultimate Fighter on Spike drew a 0.9 rating (1.2 million viewers). The program drew quarter hours of 0.84, 0.91, 0.92, and 0.98. In the key demographic numbers were a 1.11 in M18-49 and a 1.34 in M18-34.

That is the lowest number is series history and continues this season's downward trend. However, the program was facing competition from the NBA playoffs.

Strikeforce Rating

MMAPayout.com has learned that Strikeforce on NBC did a 0.5 rating on April 19. That number is considered good, in fact good enough to place #24 on the Network Sports Programming Top 30. For some perspective, Poker After Dark, the program's lead-in, did a 0.7 while an NHL Playoff game on NBC did a 0.9. The top rated sports program of the week on network TV was a 3.5 for an NBA playoff game on ABC.

Iron Ring Rating 4/15

The 4/15 episode of Iron Ring drew a 0.69 rating (663,000 viewers) on BET according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. That number was down significantly from what the series had been averaging.

TUF 7 Rating - Week 4

MMAPayout.com has learned that the fourth episode of the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter drew a 1.0 rating (1.3 million viewers). The program drew quarter hour ratings of 0.94, 0.88, 1.00, and 1.06. The demographic breakdowns were 1.49 in M18-34 and a 1.25 in M18-49.

The quarter hours actually average out to a 0.97, which rounds to a 1.0, but the series is very close to breaking the 1.0 support discussed on MMAPayout.com last week. The number is also under the 1.5 million viewers Spike averaged in prime time in the first quarter.

3/26 WEC Rating

WEC Live on Versus on 3/26 did a 0.52 rating (548,892 viewers) according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The brand is averaging a 0.50 rating (472,488 viewers) for its live broadcasts. The 6/1 event featuring Faber-Pulver is expected to break the brand's record high of 0.7.

TUF 7 Rating - Week 3

MMAPayout.com has learned that the third episode of season seven of The Ultimate Fighter drew a 1.1 rating (an average of 1.5 million viewers). The program drew quarter hour ratings of 0.99, 1.08, 1.12, and 1.25. The demographic breakdowns were 1.6 in M18-34 and a 1.4 in M18-49.

The Ultimate Fighter 7 Rating Analysis

The Ultimate Fighter Cumulative Ratings:

Season		Overall		% Change		M18-34		% Change
1		1.6		---		2.2		---
2		1.4		-12.5%		2.5		13.6%
3		1.69		20.7%		2.9		15.6%
4		1.24		-26.6%		2.0		-30.1%
5		1.18		-4.8%		1.6		-20.3%
6		1.12		-5.1%		1.5		-4.3%
Average		1.37		-5.55%		2.13		-5.1%

The Ultimate Fighter is dying and everyone knows it. That's not a knock on anyone, diminishing returns is the reality of television--particularly reality television. The UFC and Spike know it, that's why they're readying its replacement, a live weekly fight series which is scheduled to debut in 2010. However, under terms of the contract extension signed last year, the series is scheduled to continue through 2011 with five more seasons.

To their credit, the powers that be at the UFC and Spike shook things up this year with the new win and you're in the house twist, resulting in the first two episodes featuring 8 fights each. The fight quarter hour is always the highest rated quarter of the show and the conventional thinking is/was that more fights equal better ratings.

That hasn't been borne out this season, with the wall to wall action of the first two episodes drawing a 1.3 and 1.2 respectively. The season premiere's 1.3 rating is the lowest in the series' history. The 1.2 rating for episode two is the second worst rated week two in series history, despite featuring eight qualifying fights.

Those early returns don't seem to bode well for the ratings for season seven. On average, there is a 32.1% decline in the overall rating from episode one to episode twelve. If that pattern holds true this season, the rating for episode twelve would be in the 0.9 range, which would tie the series' worst rated episode (episode twelve of season two which aired outside of its regular time slot).

Of course it should be noted that in looking at the weekly ratings from the past six seasons, it is clear that if TUF were a stock it would have strong support at the 1.0 rating. The critical question this season is will that baseline number hold? If it does, the series can continue as a status quo success. If it doesn't, we may be witnessing the beginning of the end of the TUF era.

Shamrock-Cung Le Showtime Rating

Showtime's 3/29 broadcast of the EliteXC-Strikeforce event featuring Frank Shamrock v. Cung Le did a 1.2 rating (287,00 viewers), according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The number is considered a disappointment, trailing Kimbo-Tank (1.9), Shamrock's first two fighters (1.6, 1.7), and Lawler-Rua (1.5).

Iron Ring Rating - Week 3

Iron Ring on 4/1 drew a 0.81 rating on BET according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The series is averaging an impressive 0.83 rating through its first three weeks.

Dave Meltzer breaks down the surprise success of the series at Yahoo!. Key quotes from David Issacs, co-producer of the series:

Isaacs noted the concept with “Iron Ring” is more WWE-oriented. They hope to create their own new fighting stars with the Kimbo-Slice-streetfighter aura and progress to live pay-per-view events, official soundtracks and merchandising built around the celebrity coaches...

“For us, this is a long process,” said Isaacs. “We were trying to find things that are different. We’re not trying to replace UFC or compete with UFC.”

TUF 7 Ratings - Week 2

MMAPayout.com has learned that the second episode of season seven of The Ultimate Fighter drew a 1.2 rating (an average of 1.4 million viewers). The program drew quarter hour ratings of 1.02, 1.17, 1.17, and 1.27. The demographic breakdowns were 1.59 in M18-49, 0.98 in P18-49, and 2.01 in M18-34.

The overall number is off roughly 7.7% from last week's season debut. That is good news for the series as the previous six seasons have averaged a 12.5% drop between weeks one and two. However, further erosion is likely next week now that the win and you're in twist. featuring 16 fights in the first two episodes, has played out.

Ratings Flash: Shamrock-Le, Iron Ring, & ShowXC

• The Fight Network's broadcast of the event in Canada was the most watched program in the network's history. The event drew 37,000 viewers from the network's small 450,000 subscribers for an 8.2 rating with a 13.0 peak quarter hour. No rating for the Showtime broadcast has been released.
• The second episode of Iron Ring, in a new 10:30PM time slot, did a 0.76 rating (845,000 viewers) on BET.
• The ShowXC 3/21 event drew a 0.66 rating on Showtime, the best number yet for the series
  

CREDIT: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Iron Ring Rating Flash

MMAPayout.com has learned that Iron Ring is drawing around a 0.8 rating in its new 10:30 time slot. That is a very solid number, particularly on BET, which isn't a top twenty-five cable network. For some perspective, UFC Unleashed is usually in the 0.7-0.8 range on Spike.

UFC Ratings Flash

UFC Fight Night Live drew a 1.1 household rating (average audience of 1.3 million viewers). The program drew a 1.35 in Males 18-49 (748,000), a 0.84 in People 18-49 (945,000), and a 1.56 in Males 18-34 (443,000). The broadcast peaked with 1.8 million viewers for the main event.

The household rating ties the TUF 4 Live Finale for the lowest rated live UFC special on Spike, however, it was still good enough to beat the NBA on ESPN which drew 1,010,000 viewers. The 443,000 viewers in men 18-34 also topped ESPN's coverage of MLB Opening Day earlier this week (3 games on ESPN2 averaged 176,000 Men 18-34, while ESPN had one game that averaged 151,000).

The premiere of season seven of The Ultimate Fighter drew a 1.3 rating (average of 1.7 million viewers). That is down from the 1.5 that season six drew last September. The program drew a 1.80 in Males 18-49 (996,000) and a 2.21 in Males 18-34 (628,000). The 18-34 males number is the highest for the series since the season four premiere in 2006.

The premiere of the Spike original series DEA following the Ultimate Fighter drew a 1.0 household rating (average of 1.3 million viewers), with a 1.2 in men 18-49 (679,000), a 1.2 in men 18-34 (341,000). Combined with the UFC, Spike drew more men 18-49 (1.42/786,000) and 25-34 (1.83/300,000) than anything else on cable from 7PM-Midnight.

Iron Ring Premiere Rating Followup

More details have emerged on the rating for Iron Ring's premiere on BET on March 18. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the debut drew a 0.87 rating (981,000) viewers, 14% above what BET had been doing in that time slot. The audience wasn't the typical MMA audience, with men only accounting for 48% of viewers as opposed to the usual 70%. The average viewer was 24 years old.

Japan Update: Debut Disappointing for Dream; Successful Debut for WVR

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dream drew 14,700 fans and did an 8.9 rating on the TBS network for its 3/15 debut show built around the return of Mirko Cro Cop. That number is considered very disappointing in the Japanese television climate. The broadcast peaked with a 12.7 rating for Cro Cop's match with unknown Tatsuya Mizuno. Dream is currently the only promotion in the country with prime time television.

World Victory Road drew nearly 13,000 fans to its debut show on 3/5 which was considered a success, especially on a Wednesday night. The event featured Hidehiko Yoshida and Takanori Gomi in their first fights since the death of Pride. Gomi is believed to be earning approximately $190,000 per fight with Yoshida likely earning more than that according to Dave Meltzer. Without television, it remains to be seen how long the company can continue its ambitious plans producing frequent and expensive shows.