As Bellator builds to its first pay-per-view show on May 17, its Friday night ratings on Spike remain almost identical with last season.
The promotion currently averages 684,000 viewers live on Friday nights, with another five to ten percent trickling on over the next three days based on DVR viewership. The fall 2013 season, its first on Friday, averaged 665,000 viewers live when airing on Friday nights.
The most recent show, this past Friday, drew 701,000 viewers live, with 57,000 more watching over the next three days on DVR, so very slightly above average. The show was headlined by Joe Warren vs. Rafael Silva with the unique stipulation that the interim bantamweight title would be at stake if Warren would win, but not for Silva, because Silva failed to make weight. The main event peaked at 1,022,000 viewers live.
It was a good showing to be even at average levels, since they went head-to-head with two nationally televised NBA playoff games and one NHL playoff game.
Spike also drew 498,000 viewers for Glory the next night. It was the second highest viewership number since Spike started airing kickboxing last fall. The show did that number even going head-to-head with a Floyd Mayweather Jr. pay-per-view. The big draw appeared to be former UFC star Pat Barry, whose fight with Zack Mwekasa peaked at 815,000 viewers. However, Barry lost the fight via first-round knockout.
The April 30 edition of Ultimate Fighter, with B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar as coaches, did 421,000 viewers on FS 1, up 32 percent from the prior week. The April 23 episode of the show did 320,000 viewers on its premiere night. But that show set what is believed to be a record for any UFC program in history by adding a whopping 96 percent more viewers through DVR viewership over the next three days.