SB Nation User Blog: Lynchman

Early numbers for Strikeforce on CBS.

Lynchman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:06:53 -0000

Here are the early numbers.

9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 3.50 million (#4), Adults 18-49: 1.5/ 5 (share)
9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 3.53 million (#4), A18-49: 1.6/ 5
10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 4.12 million (#3), A18-49: 1.9/ 6
10:30 p.m. – Viewers: 4.01 million (#3), A18-49: 1.8/ 6

Key demos: Males18-34 (2.2) and M18-49 (2.3) with an ave audience of 3.79 million.
Those are solid. They certainly will go up once the main event is factored in, but that won't be until Tuesday.

For comparison, the first Elite show did an ave of 4.2 million with Adults 18-49 doing a 1.9. That show also saw the main event go late so those numbers do not include Kimbo. But it should be noted that this did better than the second Elite show.

TUF 10 week two ratings.

Lynchman — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:09:30 -0000

via www.5thround.com

Week two did a 2.2, down from the record-breaking 2.9 of last week.

That rating is still better than anything else TUF has done.

The show did a 4.2 in Males 18-34, 3.2 in m18-49 with an audience of 2.9 million. The replay at 11 did 1.1 million viewers.

I think we are all assuming Kimbo loses next week. While that show should do a huge number, it remains to be seen whether or not there is a drop-off after that. Especially if Nelson beats him by controling him on the ground for two rounds, which is not out of the question.

The overall feedback on Kimbo seems to be fairly positive so I am guessing he still works hard and gets along with everyone for the rest of the season. Even with a loss on the show, Kimbo is slated to fight on the finale. You know the UFC is going to be careful with who they have him face. These ratings have to have the powers that be grinning from ear to ear.

If they do keep a strong audience for the rest of the season, it will be interesting to see what impact it has on UFC 104-106. If they are drawing...let us say it drops from 3 million down to 2 million viewers a week, if they do 2 mil (still an impressive #) a week, will advertising during the show add to the buy rates of 104 and 106? What kind of numbers will Couture and Vera do for the Spike broadcast of 105?

106 could end up gaining even more momentum from this.

Strikeforce weigh-in results.

Lynchman — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:12:41 -0000

These come from f4wonline:

Daniel Cormier (0-0, 250.2) vs. Gary Frazier (0-0, 245.2)

Thomas Longacre (4-0, 148) vs. Travis Calanoc (4-0, 146.6)

Tyron Woodley (3-0, 171) vs. Zach Light (6-8, 170.4)

Ray Sefo (1-0, 240.8) vs. Kevin Jordan (11-7, 236.6)

Tim Kennedy (10-2, 186) vs. Zak Cummings (10-0, 186)

Pretty nice looking card, though I have to admit I am less that excited about seeing Kevin Jordan fight again.

Kenny Florian, Mark Dellagrotte Part Company

Lynchman — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:22:47 -0000

Fighters Only magazine has an interesting interview with Mark Dellagrotte in which he confirms that he and Kenny have parted company:

"I think he is going to do well, I think the people he is going with are some of the best in the world. It wasn’t a bad break or anything like that, it was just a mutual decision we made in order for us both to move forward. It was necessary for Kenny to move forward with his career and me to move forward as a coach."

He also confirms that there have been problems between him and Keith Florian:

"I have to stress that I have nothing negative to say towards Kenny or his brother. Its not his brother’s fault, it’s not my fault, its just one of things that happens in sports like this," the Boston man says. "There has been a constant… ‘power struggle’ between me and his brother Keith. We never really got along - which is not anybody’s fault, some work well together and some don’t.

"We worked well together at first but over the last few camps and fights we put together, there were differences and I am just the type of guy that if I can’t steer the ship, if I can’t be the captain, I would prefer not to be onboard."

Reading the entire thing, it really does sound like things are good between Kenny and Mark. Too many bad splits out there, it is nice to see these guys were able to do so without burning bridges.

I know that Keith has always been an important figure in Kenny's personal and professional life, but I question how well he will be able to steer Kenny's career. After the BJ fight, I could not help but wonder if Kenny and Sherk got their plans mixed up as neither seemed to embrace their strengths.

Photo via ThatGirlisFunny.

TUF 10 debut delivers huge numbers.

Lynchman — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:39:34 -0000

Dana White, on Twitter:.

Tuf 10 premier did 4.1 million viewers last nite!!!! Thank you all very much. You are the best fans in sports!!!

This has to exceed pretty much all expectations. Both Spike and Zuffa have to be thrilled with this. I am curious to see how well the UFN did. It was a great show to introduce new viewers to the UFC. If numbers can hold strong, the broadcast of 105 could break the previous UFC/Spike record.

A couple of things come to mind:
Will there be any backlash with all of the blood?

Did that fight (such as it was) deliver enough to keep newer folks coming back?

UPDATE: Here is the Press Release from SPIKE:

UFC HEAVYWEIGHTS ARE A RATINGS KNOCKOUT ON SPIKE TV!

RECORD VIEWERSHIP FOR PREMIERE OF
“THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER: HEAVYWEIGHTS”

Draws More Young Men Than Anything On Television On
Wednesday, September 16 Including “The Jay Leno Show”
And “America’s Got Talent” Season Finale

September 17, 2009, New York, NY – While the ratings for most television series erode over time, “The Ultimate Fighter” on Spike TV continues to defy the norm. Illustrating the ever-growing popularity of the UFC and its stable of stars, the premiere of the tenth season of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” on Wednesday, September 16 (10:00pm-11:00pm ET/PT) was not only the most watched episode in the series history, but also in network history for an original.*

The series, featuring the best up-and-coming mixed martial arts heavyweights, including YouTube sensation Kimbo Slice, garnered 4.1 million viewers, besting the previous “The Ultimate Fighter” high of 2.8 million viewers for the finale of season three in 2006.

The show debut also garnered 3.2 million Persons 18-49, demonstrating a substantial amount of co-viewing between men and women.

“The intriguing cast of ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights’ has true mass appeal, and the numbers show that this sport is not just for a niche audience anymore,” said Kevin Kay, Spike TV President.

The Spike TV telecast bested all competition on television in the advertiser-coveted demographics of Men 18-34, M18-49, M18-24, M25-34 including the highly-promoted network originals “The Jay Leno Show,” “America’s Got Talent” season finale, “Glee,” “So You Think You Can Dance” and the premiere of “Beautiful Life.”

Overall, the record-breaking Spike TV telecast drew a 5.3 rating (1.5 million) in Men 18-34, a 4.3 in M18-49 (2.4 million), a 2.9 household rating and 4.1 million total viewers.

“The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” features former UFC light heavyweight champions “Suga” Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as coaches and is the only installment in the show’s history to include only the heavyweight weight class (206+ lbs). The cast includes a list of notable athletes with impressive and diverse pedigrees including four former NFL players, UFC veterans, a former IFL heavyweight champ, and a highly-publicized former EliteXC fighter, Kimbo Slice, who gained prominence through his non-sanctioned bouts on YouTube.

*previous record for a Spike TV original episode is 3.4 million for “The Joe Schmo Show” season finale in 2003.

UPDATE: According to the Observer, the UFN did a 1.9. A very nice rating but the real story is obviously the TUF numbers.

UFC 102 payouts.

Lynchman — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:58:04 -0000

Antonio Nogueira 460k* (250k to show, 150k to win, 60k Fight of the Night bonus) def. Randy Couture 310k* (250k to show, 60k FotN bonus).

Thiago Silva (29k to show, 29k to win) def. Keith Jardine (55k to show).

Jake Rosholt 86k (13k to show, 13k to win, 60k SubotN bonus) def. Chris Leben 30k ($30,000 to show).

Nate Marquardt 140k (40k to show, 40k to win, 60k KO/TKOotN bonus) def. Damien Maia 28k (28k to show).

Brandon Vera 70k (35k to show, 35k to win) def. Krzysztof Soszynski 8k (8k to show).

Aaron Simpson 18k (9k to show, 9kto win) def. Ed Herman 24k (24k to show).

Gabriel Gonzaga 120k (60k to show, 60k to win) def. Chris Tuchscherer 10k (10k to show).

Mike Russow 20k (10k to show, 10k to win) def. Justin McCully 15k (15k to show).

Todd Duffee 10k (5k to show, 5k to win) def. Tim Hague 7k (7k to show)

Mark Munoz 24K (12k to show, 12k to win) def. Nick Catone 5k (5k to show).

Evan Dunham 14k (7k to show, 7k to win) def. Marcus Aurelio 13k (13k to show).

Disclosed total: $1,525,000

*Randy and Nog both receive a cut of the ppv in addition to the listed pay.

Lesnar Signs New Contract.

Lynchman — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:19:57 -0000

After the UFC 101 pre-fight press conference, Dana mentioned that Brock Lesnar has signed a new contract with the UFC.

Some had speculated that he might be lured away to Strikeforce to match up with Fedor.

I will be very curious to see where his downside is at. After the success of his last two bouts, Brock has proven himself to be a huge draw. It is likely that he becomes the highest paid fighter.

Penn to Stop Working With Some of the Online MMA Media

Lynchman — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:12:16 -0000

BJ Penn has announced that he will no longer be working with the majority of the online MMA media.

Penn is unhappy with how he was protrayed during the GSP/Penn II fallout. He made mention of the document that suggested that GSP took a pill that made him greasy. Penn pointed out that he did not write it, but was getting blamed for it.

He also said he felt that his other points (warning the commission in advance) were not given the proper coverage.

MMA Weekly, MMA Junkie and Sherdog were mentioned specifically, but he said he would be doing most of his talking through his website. He did say he would do any media work that the UFC sets up.

Penn then went after MMAWeekly in particular: He talked about how his family donated a lot after Ryan Bennett died and "that is how you go and treat us."

I don't think that is the best issue to raise. By that logic, MMA Weekly should be nice to the UFC since they donated tickets, backstage passes, signed items and whatnot. It should be interesting to see how the online media reacts to this.

Listen to the audio at Cagewriter.

After UFC 100, GSP could be biggest draw in UFC history.

Lynchman — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 04:07:50 -0000

After UFC 100, GSP will officially be the biggest draw in UFC history. In terms of ppv buys and ticket sales.

After this event, he will have been main event or co-main event on shows that total over 5 million buys and may hit 5.5 million. If we take out the first Penn/GSP (co-main) and Kos/GSP (co-main), it will still be likely close to 4.5 million buys. But by the time Penn/GSP came around, GSP had just dominated Sherk and Trigg and was at least a bit of a draw himself, so I am including GSP/Penn I. GSP/Kos was under Couture/Gonzaga and some will argue that it had little impact on the overall success, but again that was a fair amount of promotion done regarding that bout.

His first actual headlining bout with Hughes/GSP II which did 500k, 100k more than Hughes/Penn II.

So excluding Penn/GSP I and Kos/GSP, he would be behind Chuck Liddell (about 4.9 million buys), but ahead of Ortiz and Couture.

UFC leaves Setanta Sports.

Lynchman — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:01:35 -0000

There have been been rumors of this with all of Sentanta's financial problems, but Fighters Only is reporting that the UFC has terminated it's relationship with Sentanta sports in the U.K.

UFC UK Division President Marshall Zelaznik said: "It was with great regret that the UFC ended its relationship with Setanta. Over the last two years, Setanta has helped the UFC become the biggest indoor sporting event in the British Isles.

"They were the right partner for us at the right time as we continued to build the sport of mixed martial arts and our brand.

"Throughout the last few weeks we have been kept informed of the situation at Setanta and therefore we are in a position to ensure our UK and Eire fans will not miss any of this summer’s huge UFC events, commencing with UFC 100 in July.

"On behalf of the UFC I want to wish the team at Setanta all the strength to get through what must be very difficult times. We have worked very closely with the entire Setanta team over the past years and wish them the best of luck in the future."

Zelanik said the company will be announcing it's new broadcaster in the upcoming weeks. From what I have heard, Zuffa had started some prelim talks with other companies prior to UFC 99. It will be interesting to see how Zuffa plays this. Do they simply go for the most money, or do they look to sign a deal that garners the most pos exposure for the brand?

They are coming off of a TUF season that annointed two U.K. fighters as future stars. With the right deal, they both could become the next Bisping...provided they can hold their own in the cage. I would imagine each will be handled with kid gloves for the first few fights