UFC on Spike TV ratings beat Elite XC on CBS in key demographic

by MMAmania.com on Jul 29, 2008 4:04 PM EDT

ufc on spike
From an official Spike TV press release:

"Need proof the UFC is the preeminent mixed martial arts brand in the world? On Saturday, July 26, more men 18-34 watched a repeat…a repeat…of a UFC event on Spike TV than a LIVE telecast of a Pro EliteXC championship card on CBS. Despite being available in over 17 million more homes, Spike TV drew 27% more Men 18-34 for a re-broadcast of "UFC 84: Penn vs. Sherk" from (9:00-12:00am ET/PT) than CBS’s live show (9:00-11:00pm). Spike TV’s telecast tallied 433,000 Men 18-34 to CBS’s 341,000. Overall, "UFC 84: Penn vs. Sherk" drew higher ratings than Pro EliteXC in Men 18-49 (1.5 to 1.3) and Men 18-34 (1.5 and 1.0). Reminiscent of the XFL’s rating collapse years ago, the CBS telecast was 69% lower in Men 18-34 and 57% lower with Men 18-49 than its initial broadcast on CBS in May featuring the "He Hate Me" of MMA, Kimbo Slice. Compared to last week’s live Spike TV UFC telecast featuring arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world, Anderson Silva, the UFC outdrew CBS by 165% with Men 18-34, 82% with Men 18-49, and 21% with total viewers."

Wow. Spike TV just called Kimbo Slice the "He Hate Me" of MMA. That's pretty good if it does indeed turn out to be somewhat accurate.

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Comments

lol, I sure don’t care about elite xc, rather than female mma

by shamo84 on Jul 29, 2008 4:09 PM EDT reply actions

Who wrote that quote in bold, Mauro Renallo? That is one of the dumbest comparisons I’ve read in a while.

by ViolentMike on Jul 29, 2008 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions

the mexicutioner’s message seems to be working.

by MoonUK on Jul 29, 2008 7:08 PM EDT up reply actions

The UFC is the greatest it’s like XFL compared to the NFL… they can’t lose any time any channel any-time slot whatever… PS I hope Kim-Joke and Gina get their over-rated @ss’ handed to them… that would be the end of XC 4-ever!

Elite XC on CBS- 2008-2008

na-na-na-naw…na-na-na-naw—-hey,hey,hey-goodbye!

by mikeybear on Jul 29, 2008 8:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Renallo reminds me of Fargo on that sci-fi show Eureka.

by chefdaddy on Jul 30, 2008 8:28 AM EDT up reply actions

Pretty impresive for the UFC.

by Haze on Jul 29, 2008 4:10 PM EDT reply actions

That is a little bit surprising. But overall more people watched XC, right? And does anyone know if DVR’d programs count when they compile ratings?

by BNF on Jul 29, 2008 4:11 PM EDT reply actions

Why would they DVR a live event instead of DVR a repeated event?

by Fokman on Jul 29, 2008 7:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Reading comprehension? I will ask again.

If you DVR a show, does it add ratings to that show?

by BNF on Jul 29, 2008 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions

I was wondering when we were going to see these #’s. The problem Elite XC has is that the hardcore fans may tune in, but with the way the production was run, goofy WWE style ring entrances, controversial fight endings, Kimbo was the only real draw, etc., the majority general public probably thought it was a fricken joke.

by VNDK8 on Jul 29, 2008 4:12 PM EDT reply actions

I don’t really care about ufc or elite xc I just wanna see the best fighters going at it regardless which organization.

by TKO on Jul 29, 2008 4:12 PM EDT reply actions

sure monte cox, sure.

by Ro-J on Jul 29, 2008 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions

That just shows how shallow Elite’s talent pool is. No Mimbo = no ratings. At this rate they’ll be lucky to get that fourth show on CBS. Oh well, next time out they’ll match Mimbo up against some fat slob they found drinking in a dive bar the night before, all but guaranteeing a Mimbo KO and all will be right in the world.

by PW on Jul 29, 2008 4:14 PM EDT reply actions

“arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world, Anderson Silva” Huh??? What is there to argue he beats up people smaller then him and people his size. He has a couple losses and has yet to fight more then 1 really good fighter(Hendo).

Fedor beats up everyone his size everyone that is bigger, to way way bigger, to fucken Huge extra gigantic(from the most talented to the rookies).. He has never been beat could fight at 205 but prefers the much harder challenge at HW. Hmmmmmmmmm what is there to argue about again??
P4P learn the meaning people.

Anyways Elite XC will destroy UFC’s rating for their next show the line up is nothing short of fucken sick! Everyone with a brain expected their ratings to drop for the second show and production to be alot better thats exactly what happened. Now watch the ratings bounce back up and the show continue to improve.

by Khaos_Warrior on Jul 29, 2008 4:23 PM EDT reply actions

Elite XC f’d up big time with shitty production and controversy in their first show. It will be a while before they blow away a UFC event. The general public don’t have a clue who is fighting for Elite except for Kimbo.

by VNDK8 on Jul 29, 2008 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Change your name to tough guy, you certainly know whats up. All the way from Silva being over rated to Fedor being the best for fighting circus acts. Your right everyone knew EXC wouldn’t have as high of ratings this time around but nobody expected a re run to beat them on the ratings. Also the next show doesn’t sound very exciting at all. What will they do auction off more undeserved belts to whomever they want to hold them. Jake Sheilds is the only real champ at his weight class in EXC.

by Cogito Ergo Sum on Jul 29, 2008 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Thank you Khaos Warrior. Ignorant people often discredit HW’s when talking about lb for lb. However, not I. In fact, the lighter HW’s are the ONLY fighters that regularly fight against opponents that outweigh them by 50 lbs. Its the only division that has a 60 lb allowance. All other weight divisions have 10 – 15 lb differences.

However, the argument over who is the best lb for lb fighter is something that will be debated until Anderson or Fedor loses. Which means, this argument may go on forever!

by ViolentMike on Jul 29, 2008 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions

I don’t disagree that Fedor is “arguably” the best P4P, But “arguably” means that there is a good argument to be made. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to include Silva in that discussion.

As far as the elite line up, if you mean “sick” as in, need of great medical attention, then you are right.

by Jrandolph on Jul 29, 2008 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions

right on.

by DB on Jul 29, 2008 7:30 PM EDT up reply actions

elites next show’s succsess will depend on what the ufc counters with, same as affliction’s ppv come oct. the ufc might run ufc 87 (gsp/fitch and lesnar/herrring) against elite and blow them away. as far as affliction goes it will be interesting to see what they (the ufc) will counter with. any clues?

by b.w. on Jul 29, 2008 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions

re-run ufc 87 i mean.

by b.w. on Jul 29, 2008 6:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Khaos_Warrior a agree completly with you about fedor and silva. Silva wieghs 220 and fedor weighs 230 (224 when he fought in pride). I have no idea how anyone can say that fedor in not #1 p4p.

by fred on Jul 29, 2008 6:38 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree that fedor is a great fighter, but I don’t agree that he chooses to fight at HW because its a bigger challenge. I think fedor would have more problems at 205 than at HW. There’s just not alot of talent ( other than Fedor) in the HW division. arlovski might be his best opponent in the past 3-4 years and he lost to tim Sylvia twice. Fedor and Sylvia are the best fighters around, but I would like to see fedor fight at 205 if he can make the weight to see how he does against quicker more skilled guys. ( more skilled compared to the HW division, not necessarily more skilled than Fedor)

by James S on Jul 30, 2008 9:55 AM EDT up reply actions

I wished they would of broadcastes UFC 84 this weekend.. Sat Aug 2nd.. other than cock blocking/counter programming against Affliction/EliteXC.. That BS.. Think about.. We had MMA on the 19th.. the 26th jsut alone with EliteXC.. and nothing on the 2nd.. then UFC87 on the 9th.. I rather get consistent dosages of MMA.. then double shots on one day.

by PhilQNY on Jul 29, 2008 4:25 PM EDT reply actions

I am not gonna complain. I will take it when I can get it.

by NorthStar on Jul 29, 2008 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Wouldn’t that be fricken ideal! That’s what the fan’s want, but Dana isn’t exactly focused on us right now. We wouldn’t have near the free shows if these other promotions weren’t around. He just doesn’t want to share any of his toys in the sandbox with the other kids.

by VNDK8 on Jul 29, 2008 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Well boo frickin hoo. Come on guys, you can’t be serious. The UFC (as any company would and should) is merely taking advantage of the “pursuit of happiness” clause. In this case the pursuit of happines means crushing the competition so the UFC can ake loads of cash. I think It’s a simple, and probably, effective business move. Can you imagine Mcdonalds CEO on the line with Burger King asking for thier new menu release dates so they could be sure to avoid any concurring promos. No way!
Also, some people seem to think that Dana has some divine responsibilty to the purity of MMA. We complain about him monopolizing everything, then we complain when he does’nt give us the fights we want, when we want, and for free. I’ve said it before, competition wil be great for the fans. While improvements still need to be made to both, the last XC and Afflicion events have proven to energize the UFC. So let them compete on thier own terms and the market (that’s us by the way) will decide.

by Jrandolph on Jul 29, 2008 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions

again, your right on the money.

by DB on Jul 29, 2008 7:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Not a good time to buy stock in EliteXC. Whether we like or not, to the non-hardcore fan: UFC = MMA.

by Muscle Dolphin on Jul 29, 2008 4:33 PM EDT reply actions

Buy out

by Cogito Ergo Sum on Jul 29, 2008 4:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Damn….lol

by Kelvin on Jul 29, 2008 4:49 PM EDT reply actions

I guess I wasn’t the only one not watching.

by the_mexicutioner on Jul 29, 2008 4:50 PM EDT reply actions

Steve Smith got killed in the UFC (didnt even make it out of the first round on the ultimate fighter) and he fighting for a championship in Elite XC???? Enough said about the competion between the two brands.

by doubled on Jul 29, 2008 5:31 PM EDT reply actions

you mean scott smith.

by kitsunex on Jul 29, 2008 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions

just goes to show how knkown he is.

by Ro-J on Jul 30, 2008 1:31 PM EDT up reply actions

The basketball player Steve Smith?

by the_mexicutioner on Jul 29, 2008 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Mexicutioner,

The EliteXC shows great and everyone gave it great reviews.

Looking forward for the next few shows from EliteXC.

by Joseph on Jul 29, 2008 7:50 PM EDT reply actions

Good for you! HIgh Five!

by the_mexicutioner on Jul 29, 2008 9:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I am still with you mex! BOYCOTT! I watched the reruns, the fights SUCKED

by NewGuyTheGunMan on Jul 30, 2008 12:35 AM EDT up reply actions

I also enjoyed EliteXC, not to mention Affliction. I think everyone should welcome the competing MMA organizations and support them all since it is bringing us more MMA action.

I agree with the earlier post that Anderson Silva is not the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. Until he beats a professional fighter weighing one and half times as much as him, Fedor holds that title.

by DrPepper on Jul 29, 2008 8:05 PM EDT reply actions

MMA is still fighting for main stream, and shows like Elite could make is fall back into cult status. its all public opinion

by Ro-J on Jul 30, 2008 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions

I am on the west coast and it did not air until 12:pm, so yeah I watched the UFC replay because that was all that was on at 6pm. CBS stalled us westcoasters so I can see why Spike had good numbers.

by bigmcmac on Jul 29, 2008 9:11 PM EDT reply actions

What do you expect who had heard of more the a couple of the Elite XC guys

by staples on Jul 29, 2008 10:20 PM EDT reply actions

It is only news whenever any other promotion goes head to head with the UFC and beats them. If they lose, that’s expected.

It’s good to compare all orgs with the UFC because they’re the front runner. But we should still keep things in general perspective—the UFC has been doing this for a very long time. All of these other organizations, collectively, are doing a great job considering how long they’ve been around.

by rhv on Jul 30, 2008 1:31 AM EDT reply actions

Hey, “He Hate Me” actually got a job in the NFL. Does that mean Kimbo might make the major leagues one day?? LOL!!!

by CAP on Jul 30, 2008 10:53 AM EDT reply actions

He Hate Me is a moron. Almost as dumb, but slightly more creative than the other guy from XFL-He Hate Me Too. And yes, I hate them both.

by chefdaddy on Jul 30, 2008 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions

I think this is good competition ufc vs xc, reminds me of WCW vs WWE from the late 90’s. It brought out the best rating wars of all time. And the best competition, xc vs ufc is only going to make the sport more better!!

by joey on Aug 3, 2008 11:38 PM EDT reply actions