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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The World Series of Fighting drew numbers in line with expectations for their first event on Saturday night on the NBC Sports Network. According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, an average of 198,000 viewers tuned in for the two hour broadcast.
The event was essentially a time-buy from the WSOF, meaning they paid to get on the air with NBC Sports Network, but the idea was to secure more events in the future on the network depending on how the first card went. The numbers were in line with Bellator's average viewership on MTV2, and were higher than the average for UFC on Fuel cards.
NBC Sports Network hadn't run an MMA event since a UFC card in October of last year when it was still the Versus network. The network has a similar reach as MTV2, though is in significantly more homes than Fuel.
The first WSOF event featured several former UFC competitors, including former Champ Andrei Arlovski in the main event, and Anthony "Rumble" Johnson in the co-main. It also featured the MMA debut of kickboxer Tyrone Spong. They currently plan on running an event in early 2013, though a date and TV outlet for that card are not yet set.
Penick's Analysis: These numbers are just slightly less than what NBC Sports Network has gotten with boxing, so I'd imagine there's a solid chance the WSOF gets to continue on the network. What they do from there remains to be seen, but Saturday's card was an initial step. It's hard to judge based on that first card, and we'll get a better idea of where they're headed with how a second event pans out.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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