Strikeforce on CBS drew the third highest rating for a mixed martial arts event on the network, bringing an average of just over 4 million viewers to the two hour timeslot and peaking with 5.46 million viewers for the 11:00-11:15 slot featuring Fedor Emelianenko's victory over Brett Rogers. It was lower than both EliteXC events featuring Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano last year, but still a good rating for Strikeforce in their CBS debut.
With that being said, the numbers are not breathtaking and have already received criticism in some areas and downright vitriol from, you guessed it, UFC President Dana White. In a story by Dave Meltzer at Yahoo! Sports, White is quoted saying, "CBS made its biggest mistake partnering with a tiny, small show with a roster no one cares about. Just because you read on MMA.TV that someone is a superstar doesn’t make it true. This should prove that no one out there gives a [expletive] about Fedor. We’re pulling those numbers on Spike. I mean, how the [expletive] is what they did considered any good in any way, shape or form? What kind of numbers do you think we would pull with a live show on CBS? I’ll tell you. Huge. It would be significantly, significantly more than what they got with these idiots from Showtime."
White also questioned whether Brett Rogers would last more than two minutes against multiple UFC fighters.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker didn't understand why White and the UFC wouldn't be happy with the rating, as he felt everyone doing well simply helped the sport overall.
So the question becomes, while the fight itself reached more eyes than probably should have been expected considering Fedor's past numbers on U.S. events, was this admittedly good number of viewers good enough for Strikeforce and CBS? It's a tough question to answer, because the reality is while the bout had the ninth most viewers in U.S. television history, the event as a whole was still well under the normal viewership for CBS in that timeslot.
The numbers were up in the key MMA demos of men 18-34 and men 18-49, but that rise didn't make up for the loss of viewers in other demographics. Also, while 5.46 million tuned in for the Fedor vs. Rogers fight itself, that number is a bit misleading. Those viewers didn't tune in when the bout was supposed to take place in the last 20 minutes of the two hour timeslot, and it was such an increase from the two hour event itself that most of the viewers tuning in at that time were likely looking for their nightly news. They stuck around and watched the fight, sure, but they weren't there for the remainder of the event and don't mean enough in the long run to CBS execs or advertisers who did not benefit from that increase in viewership.
Fedor's next fight for Strikeforce will have a lot more initial interest than this bout did, but it may not end up taking place on CBS. As of yet, there's no news as to if this show was successful enough to bring a green light for another Strikeforce event on CBS. And if and when that next event takes place, because of the way this first show was sold, Fedor may be the only fighter that will bring in close to that number a second time unless Gina Carano is also on the card. They just haven't built anyone else up enough at this point to put together a really strong draw for CBS the next time out, at least not yet.
And in some ways Dana White is right, because the UFC would pull blockbuster numbers on network television even without their top, top stars; and if Brock Lesnar was in a main event on network television I guarantee it hits ten million viewers, easy. The UFC brand and marketing leading the charge on a network, which is how a deal would have to work for them and one of the reasons they have not appeared on network TV as of yet, would drive more viewers to a Fight Night type card, and a full on pay-per-view worthy card on CBS would have every UFC fan tuning in.
Strikeforce brought in an amicable rating for what could have been expected from them, but it's not set in stone that they'll get another crack at the network spotlight, either. If they don't, it may be another case of a promotion putting the majority of their eggs into one basket and falling short again. The numbers look good, but again the fact is they've still only succeeded in making Fedor a much larger draw and Brett Rogers a much more respected heavyweight. Whether any of that translates into success for they themselves down the road still remains to be seen.
I was under the impression when Fedor signed with Strikeforce that one of
his fights was to be on Showtime. It would also seem that Strikeforce has
no com-main event *draw* other than Carano. So, that said, and considering
the fact that Carano's filming a movie, here's what I'd do.
Feed Werdum to Fedor in 5-6 months or so, once Fedor is healthy. If Fedor
only fights on CBS, then Showtime has nothing to show for their deal with
Fedor. Then a few months later you do Fedor v. Overeem, along with Carano
v. Cyborg II. You might as well throw Carano in with Cyborg, because the
whole world knows she's not going to be fighting much longer, so milk her
as a draw and let her get re-slaughtered.
Also, if Overeem is unwilling to fight here, then match Fedor up with
either Rogers for a rematch, or (wait for it) sign Barnett. The fact of
the matter is that if Strikeforce on CBS 2 doesn't build heavily upon the
most recent card, there will be no third CBS Strikeforce show, Fedor's deal
will be over, and Strikeforce could die. By signing Fedor, Strikeforce
committed to swinging for the fences, so now they need to continue swinging
hard.
Bill Barber
12 Nov 2009, 01:10
Boles - You're so full of crap I can smell you. Strikeforce is going to do
just fine. Take your nose out of White's butt because it's turning brown.
Boles
12 Nov 2009, 11:05
What I wrote was, and I'll type slower so you can comprehend it easier, was
that now that Strikeforce has committed to a path, they have to stay on
that path. I didn't say they WILL die, or that I WANT THEM to die. what I
wrote was that IF the second show doesn't build on the first show's
audience, that they *COULD* die.
Reading comprehension is a bitch, isn't it?
PS: I was at the Strikeforce show on Sat. night, I haven't missed one of
their shows since they've been on Showtime (I even streamed one), and I
woulda driven 6 hours to the St Louis show had I not been getting married
the following weekend. I suggest in the future you get more than 3% of
your facts alligned before throwing out your talking points.
Anon
12 Nov 2009, 14:25
The biggest problem with Fedor is that he has nobody to build him up. Most
casual fans don't know who Strikeforce is and they don't know anybody from
their roster. If Fedor was fighting Lesnar, Couture, Mir, or any other big
name then Fedor himself would become a big name.
Most people probably tuned in at the last moment on accident as you said,
saw Fedor getting smacked around by Rogers then won, and probably thought
he was a complete bum, that Strikeforce was the little leagues and not
worthy of their attention like the UFC was.
Obviously this is not fact, we here all know that Fedor was going to win
that fight and that he has the greatest HW record of all time, but the
casual fan did not.
I think this was the best rating the Strikeforce will ever gain from their
shows unless a big draw signs with them. It is my opinion that,
unfortunately, ratings will decline if any more shows happen on CBS.
Between Shields boring the crowd and Fedor looking like a complete shmoe to
the untrained eye, the casual fan probably isn't interested in that
anymore.
Just my opinion, we'll see what happens.
Boles
12 Nov 2009, 14:41
You're underestimating the Carano effect (1 that I don't understand, but I
acknowledge its existence). Other than that, you're probably spot on.
