(‘To the death, Georges. To the death. Right after I get back from vacation.’)
As if you couldn’t tell from the high production values in last night’s debut episode of “UFC Primetime” on Spike TV, that thing didn’t come cheap. The pricetag for the entire series is $1.7 million, which is a lot when you consider that your run-of-the-mill “Countdown” show only costs about $200,000. But judging by the ratings numbers from last night’s premiere episode, it may prove to be worth it.
MMA Payout reports that the show drew nearly 1.5 million viewers (1,494,000 to be exact), according to ratings estimates. In case you’re curious how that compares to the “Countdown” ratings, the best that show ever managed to draw in its first airing was 782,000 viewers. That means “UFC Primetime” drew nearly twice as well as the best “Countdown” ever, and it has the added benefit of being a recurring series, so we can see how many of those people come back for more next week.
But here’s the real question: will the high ratings translate into big pay-per-view buys? Probably. “Countdown” ratings have proven to be a fairly decent barometer for how a given PPV event will sell, and these kinds of numbers should give the UFC reason to be very optimistic about the potential for UFC 94. Then again, Georges St. Pierre-B.J. Penn II was bound to be a huge event anyway, so it will be difficult to say how much “Primetime” helped.
Either way, as long as the UFC is putting out something this good, and as long as they keep employing our boy Ariel Helwani (who is hopefully seeing a big chunk of that $1.7 million, because we need to borrow some cash to cover our gambling losses after UFC 92), we aren’t complaining. Let’s just hope this success means more “Primetimes” in the future.
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Comments
Thu, 01/15/09 - 04:38
you didn't miss much.
Thu, 01/15/09 - 04:38
Damn, I missed this show! Anybody know if they will re-air this first one? For spending so much money on it I would hope they would re-air it.
Thu, 01/15/09 - 04:39
maybe hype up your next event first
Thu, 01/15/09 - 05:22
I think the ratings were simply due to who's fighting rather than OMG that might be a good show thing. I think they could have done the run of the mill Countdown and drawn the same. I did enjoy the show though and liked what the extra money bought.
Thu, 01/15/09 - 05:37
The extra cost definitely showed last night. The 'Primetime' show had an amazing production quality. I hope the UFC keeps this up for future superfights.
Thu, 01/15/09 - 05:56
It airs again tonight and sunday morning. I thought it was a great show. Very intriging and I can't wait for the next one. I hope GSP kicks the crap out of Penn. Penn is such a stuck up asshole! A lot of talent, but major d-bag
Thu, 01/15/09 - 06:30
BJ`s left ear looks like it could make a fart. Meaning, it looks like an ass, he has ass ear.
Thu, 01/15/09 - 06:46
just wondering what is ariel helwani's with the ufc?
Thu, 01/15/09 - 06:54
How did you get the impression that BJ is a stuck up asshole when they showed clips of him shaking hands and saying hello to strangers as he ran through Hilo. If you are referring to the comments he makes about GSP then you're an idiot. When you are going to kick someones ass, Hawaiians don't say to many polite things. I think all you GSP nuthuggers can't take the fact that BJ is going to smash him and he can talk crap way better than GSP..........like his "I'm not the one from a wealthy family" line. Frickin lame. Trust me, if you are a rich boy in Hilo everyone wants to and tries to kick your ass. He didn't have the Richie Rich lifestyle that everyone thinks he had.
Thu, 01/15/09 - 07:36
The Primetime show was good. But only compared to UFC's other Countdown episodes, which were all bullshit. Primetiime was good but is still nothing compared to the boxing ones. I don't even know anything about boxing, yet when I watch one of those HBO shows I get way juiced.
Thu, 01/15/09 - 07:49
@Flying Hawaiian: Hear hear. I am both a GSP and a BJ fan, mostly because I love the egregious usage of initials and acronyms. But I will not, on the sunniest day, hug either of their nuts. That's what Dana's delicate hands are for.
Fri, 01/16/09 - 12:21
@ All Someone please tell me that dude did not just say "he can talk crap way better than GSP".
Fri, 01/16/09 - 01:53
yeah he did.
Fri, 01/16/09 - 02:15
They're fighting to the death? Someone please make sure Steve Mazzagatti isn't reffing this one
Fri, 01/16/09 - 04:51
Crittino Says: Fri, 01/16/2009 - 02:15 "They're fighting to the death? Someone please make sure Steve Mazzagatti isn't reffing this one" HAHAHA, if he is reffing one of them for sure is going to die. Im not going to buy this Pay-per-view as i am going to be attending in person. =D Muwahahaha
Fri, 01/16/09 - 07:04
No doubt. Any Cecil Peoples should be no where near the judges table.
Fri, 01/16/09 - 07:36
Just wondering, is a 0.7 rating (According to Wrestling Observer) big for UFC? I'm not trolling, I'm actually just curious. Doesn't really seem like a high number, but I don't know anything about ratings and potential revenue (I.E. PPV buys) from such shows.
Sun, 01/18/09 - 01:36
Can you not read, anonymous? Primetime's ratings were almost twice as much as the best rated episode of Countdown.
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