Preliminary Ratings Show EliteXC On CBS A Major Success
Mixed martial art’s inaugural foray onto network television was a ratings hit according to preliminary data released on Sunday. Though final figures are still pending EliteXC’s “Primetime” event placed first in key demographics and showed major growth over the timeslot’s typical viewership. The news is only expected to get better for the MMA promotion and major network later this week when national ratings for the most popular portion of the broadcast, Kimbo Slice’s main event TKO victory over James Thompson, are released on Tuesday.
At this point in time it’s rather safe to say EliteXC and MMA proved its worth on Saturday and, despite controversial finishes and questionable production, earned more network television time. The promotion’s next network television event is expected to take place in the late-summer or early-fall. A rematch from Saturday’s event, a championship bout between title-holder Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith which ended in a no contest, will likely headline the fight card while Kimbo Slice would likely also be in action at the event.
The complete press release announcing the impressive ratings is after the jump…
THE INAUGURAL “CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS” MIXED MARTIAL ARTS EVENT LEADS THE NETWORK TO DEMOGRAPHIC VICTORY AND SIGNIFICANT TIME PERIOD GROWTH
CBS Places First in Key Young Adult and Men Demographics with Triple Digit Percentage Increases Versus the Network’s Season Average on Saturday
National Ratings for the Highest Rated Part of the Broadcast—Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson —which Did Not Air Until 11:30 PM, Will Not be Available Until Tuesday
Local Markets Show Ratings Surge in Final Quarter-Hour
The inaugural CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS mixed martial arts event, live from Newark N.J., led the Network to demographic victory and significant time period growth among all key young adult and young men demographics from 9:00-11:00 PM, according to preliminary Nielsen live plus same day ratings for Saturday, May 31.
The 9:00-11:00PM portion of CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS (2.7/05, 4.30m) was first in adults 25-54 (1.9/06), adults 18-49 (1.9/06), adults 18-34 (1.9/07), men 25-54 (2.6/08), men 18-49 (2.5/08) and men 18-34 (2.6/10).
Editors Note: Preliminary national ratings for Saturday night only include the 9:00-11:00 PM prime time portion of the broadcast and do not include the highest rated part of the telecast–Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson–which didn’t air until 11:30 PM. Full program ratings will not be available until Tuesday.
Also, CBS programming was pre-empted in approximately 5% of the country due to coverage of the Children’s Miracle Network Telethon.
The broadcast posted increases in every half-hour in key adult and men demographics:
Adults Men    Adults Men    Adults Men
18-34Â Â 18-34Â Â 18-49Â Â 18-49Â Â 25-54Â Â 25-54
9PMÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.4Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.7Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.4Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.7Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.5Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.8
9:30PMÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.5Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.1Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.6Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.0Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.6Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.2
10PMÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.1Â Â Â Â Â Â 3.0Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.1Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.8Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.1Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.9
1030PMÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.5Â Â Â Â Â Â 3.6Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.4Â Â Â Â Â Â 3.4Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.5Â Â Â Â Â Â 3.4
Compared to the 9:00-11:00PM regularly scheduled programming during the 2007-08 season, CBS was up +36% in adults 18-49 (from 1.4/04), +111% in adults 18-34 (from 0.9/03), +86% in men 25-54 (from 1.4/04), +127% in men 18-49 (from 1.1/03), +271% in men 18-34 (from 0.7/03).
In the 54 metered local markets, the broadcast gained in every half-hour, beginning with a 2.4/5 from 9:00-9:30 PM and peaking at a 4.7/10 from 11:30-11:45 PM during the Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson main event.
Half-hour by half-hour ratings in the 54 metered markets.
- 9:00-9:30PM – 2.4 / 5
- 9:30-10:00PM – 2.5 / 5
- 10:00-10:30PM – 3.2 / 6
- 10:30-11:00PM – 3.7 / 7
- 11:00 – 11:30PM – 4.0 / 8
- 11:30 – 11:45PM – 4.7 / 10
The Top 10 markets from 11:30-11:45 PM (featuring Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson)
1. Oklahoma City/KWTV 11.1/18
2. Nashville/WTVF 10.3/19
3. New Orleans/WWL 9.7/15
4. Memphis/WREG 8.4/14
5. Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville/WSPA 8.0/15
6. Las Vegas/KLAS 7.5/15
7. Tulsa/KOTV 7.3/13
8. Miami/WFOR 7.3/12
9. Los Angeles/KCBS 7.2/17
10. St Louis/KMOV 7.1/13SHOWTIME will rebroadcast last night’s event on Friday, June 13 (11:00 PM, ET/PT).
Tags: kimbo slice, Robbie Lawler, Scott Smith
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I feel Kimbo is bad for MMA because the average fan does not understand that his lack of skill does not qualify him as a legit fighter in the world of MMA. Along with that, Gary Shaw runs Elite XC just like a former boxing promoter who bashed MMA previously would….in it for the money not the sport. I am happy that the broadcast helped bring fans and viewers to the sport. On the other hand, I just wish it was done it better fashion. Elite XC has some very good talent but the way they present the promotion and hype up Kimbo rubs me the wrong way as a fan.
i’ve been following mma for a while, and reading these emails everyday, but this is my second post. i kept trying to watch elite xc on tv, but couldn’t. the first half hour was garbage, the rappers, and dancing girls were lame, and cheesey. and spike tv played a special on chuck liddell, and aired his fight with silva after that. i kept pushing myself to watch elite, and it was terrible to watch compared to ufc. i didn’t like it at all. i agree with the comments about looking like a pro wrestling event, or cheesey promoting just for money. made the sport look like garbage to me. if that was my first mma experience i wouldn’t like the sport.
i agree with evrything these guys just said
Bimbo Slice has no ground game! The ref should have called that fight in the 2nd when he was pinned and taking elbows and not improving his position. Done Deal
This is only the beginning of MMA promotions doing things like this. With such a popular growing sport, its gonna be played with and advertised in tons of different ways and any promoter with $$$ is gonna want a piece and there gonna do it there own way. Whether it be Kimbo as the main event, Bob Sapp, Ken Shamrock, Butterbean, Tyson, Macho Man, Stallone, a bum on the street …they’ll do what they gotta do to attract attention. The funny is that people will watch it !!!!!!!! just like Elite XC on CBS. Everyone is interested in who would win in a real MMA fight and not always whos the best in the world.
All this only makes the UFC stand out even more and make people crave the real world class fights in the traditional UFC settings …….
after sylvia beats fedor he needs to make a joke outta kimbo
the problem for EliteXC now is, will anyone watch or care if they have an event where kimbo is not fighting? i think now they have to have kimbo fight at every event they put on or they will struggle to get decent ratings.
It was lame and I ended up watching the Liddel special followed by the Liddel vs. Silva fight, which was great to watch again….I actually have more respect for both of the 2 fighters after watching it a second time with the addition of extra highlights of before and after fight interviews.
Hey Kris, do you have any new news on Bobby Lashley?
WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK OF FRANK MIR AND BIMBO…
E-ROC, he signed with AFL
Mir beat Lesnar with his ground game… Lesnar would destroy Kimbo! It almost makes me agree with dana that Lil B.J. Penn could take Kimbo!
I’d actually rather see a Lesnar vs Slice side show bout.
Thanx Arnold. I was hoping Lashley would sign with the UFC. He is pretty much another Brock Lesnar; would have increased the talent level in the heavyweight division.
I didn’t watch EliteXC this past Saturday. I take it that I didn’t miss much. LOL, I wonder if Matt Serra could Kimbo Slice.
the only reason it did so well was because it didn’t cost jack**** to watch, cheapest hooker isn’t always the best lookin one
I flipped back and forth between the Ultimate Liddel show and the EliteXC show. UFC put together a really documentary piece on Liddel. It was really good. That was a really smart move by UFC to put their biggest star up against EliteXC’s CBS show. Smart business move!
As far as EliteXC put on some pretty good fights to be quite honest. Even the Kimbo fight was pretty exciting and the Lawler-Smith fight was a straight up slugfest! but the “total appearance or presentation of the show” just was really sloppy and kind of mickey mouse! The dancers, the rappers, all of that isn’t needed not one bit. The attention should have been soley of the fighters and the sport. They should have used that has an oppurtunity to really push the sport over the top and I think they kind of failed to do that due to all the other “gimics” that were used which were not necessary.
As far as Kimbo, his boxing is top notch! His hands are a little slow, but he has good punch placement and he remembers to go the body and he also had good head movement on defence and has a VERY strong chin. To be honest, he really didn’t do that bad on the ground in the first round when he was fresh. He actually POWERED back up to his feet with ease on serveral occasions IN THE FIRST ROUND. However, as the fight went up, that’s when he begin to struggle. KIMBO WAS ON “E” from the beginning of the 2nd round on. Even after winning the fight, he was to tired to celebrate. He just flopped in to the matt – DEAD TIRED! He was so tired that he couldn’t even answer questions during the post fight interview. He has no cardio at all whatsoever! Even though he came in at 235Lb which is the lightest he’s ever fought at, his cardio is still not even cloase to being were it needs to be to be an elite fighter. TO MUCH SMOKING AND DRINKING. Although he says he doesn’t smoke or drink during training camp, he still does it outside of training camp and you really can’t get your cardio where it needs to doing that kind of stuff – especially when you’re a beginner in the sport! Much to my suprise, the guy is really humble and has changed my oppinion of him. He admits that he has alot to learn and a long way to go.
Lastly, it’s not Kimbo that’s bad for the sport, it GARY SHAW!!! He is the one that is exploiding Kimbo and turning him into an overnight MMA sensation when he hasn’t even proved anything in the sport yet. Shaw is a boxing guy who is trying to run a MMA company with no knowledge of the sport! He didn’t even like the sport…called it human cock fighting just a couple of years ago, and now he’s all abou it! But everyone keeps blaming Kimbo. He’s just a man trying to make some money like anyone else! Do you expect him to turn the money down. Kimbo has the right attitude for this sport in that HE IS NOT AFFRAID TO FIGHT NO MATTER WHO IT IS OR HOW MUCH BETTER THEY ARE THAN HIM OR HOW MUCH MORE EXPERIENCE THEY HAVE OVER HIM….He’s just looking for a good hard fight! Those are the kind of guys that are needed in MMA. He doesn’t get in there and run like the one kid who just fought Nate Quarry. He’s not affraid to get hit in the face! On top of that, he actually wants to learn the sport and get better at it to be an elite fighter. The guy is 33 years old and is just now getting started in the sport while most guys start in their early twenties. But Gary Shaw is promoting him like he’s the Greatest of all time and he’s just starting out. Business wise it makes since, but it bad for the sport! Don’t blame Kimbo, blame GARY SHAW.
So, to summarize:
1. Kimbo is a good boxer.
He punches hard, bobs and weeves, and uses combinations, all in a natural efficient manner.
2. Kimbo has virtually no ground fighting skills at all.
3. Kimbo has some cardio fitness, but needs dounble that.(It aint easy. The other night I threw about 10 punches while holding 8lb weights and was breathing really heavily. It made me realize what kind of cardio shape guys like Liddell and Silva are in.
Gary Shaw/Elite/CBS–It’s it’s own thing. UFC has a lot of theatrics that the old-time brazillian fighters find silly, so in a sense it’s relative.
Personally, I can do with less bs and more hardcore getting down to business.
i definately agree, the iceman special, and silva fight was a great business move. i tried to watch elites broadcast, forced myself, but ended up watching ufc.
i couldn’t force myself to watch that show on saturday after i sat thru the prefight stuff on Inside MMA which featured kimbo, shaw and shamrock. i think elite was going for the opposite of rampage when they signed kimbo, meaning they got someone with no real mma skills and even less personality. and shaw has gotta be the biggest douche i’ve ever had to listen to including my ex girlfriends dad. from what i heard about the fight and the stuff i saw online, i’m sad that mma was introduced to the rest of america this way. this will shock you all, but if given the chance, i woulda rather seen bisping be part of this even as opposed to the j*** offs.
I can’t wait for Kimbo’s next fight. Hopefully it will be against someone who wasn’t supposed to be an easy KO, and Kimbo gets his ass handed to him. I’d love to see Mirko Cro-Cop knock him unconscious 10 seconds into the fight with a roundhouse.
Boycott CBS EliteXC.
You guys really do give Kimbo a bad rap for no reason at all. I’ve never ONCE heard Kimbo come out and say “I’m the best MMA fighter ever.” as MANY before have (a.k.a. Phil Baroni, Wanderlei and for God’s sake even Ricco Rodriguiz). Yet all of you !@#$heads treat him like he’s a plague to MMA.
It really disgusts me to see everyone on this site treat him so poorly when he’s never voiced that he was good at MMA…but merely voiced how UNSKILLED he is at MMA. I mean come on people get over yourself… Kimbo is a great addition to MMA and if Bas keeps on him he may actually be good one day.
Be mad at Shaw…don’t disrepect Kimbo because of the promotion he’s with. He’d beat 99.9% of all of you in the 1st round. You’d hit him… he’d hit you… you’d hit the ground.
Show respect for a new fighter or don’t call yourself a true MMA fan.
I can’t believe I even had to type that to some of you who’s comments I’ve enjoyed reading for so long. Just plain pathetic.