UFC
UFC NEWS: Weigh-ins for UFC 118 draw 380,000 viewers to Spike TV
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Aug 31, 2010 - 12:14:04 PM

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Spike TV aired the weigh-ins for last weekend's UFC 118 event live last Friday afternoon, their second such airing this summer, and according to a report from MMAJunkie.com, the airing drew 380,000 viewers to the network.

For the timeslot the special aired in - the show was live at 4PM ET - the ratings were described as "pretty good." The airing of July's UFC 116 weigh-ins brought 645,000 viewers, though it also aired during a better timeslot at 7PM ET.

The MMAJunkie report states that Spike officials are open to more live airings of weigh-ins for events, with October's UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez event likely the next event to get that treatment.

Penick's Analysis: That's a good number of viewers considering it was on a Friday afternoon where many of the viewers who had tuned in for the 116 weigh-ins in July were likely at work. It's certainly enough viewers to keep Spike interested in airing them in the future, and clearly they feel the same way. With more Spike Prelims Live specials likely coming in 2011, the live weigh-ins could become a pretty regular thing as well.

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