Tag: ESPN

Joe Rogan ‘Not Interested’ In Working For ESPN (Video)

Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan has noticeably been working a lot fewer events in recent years. Rogan typically only commentates pay-per-view (PPV) cards in Las Vegas or California. He no longer does international cards or regular TV events. Speakin…

Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan has noticeably been working a lot fewer events in recent years. Rogan typically only commentates pay-per-view (PPV) cards in Las Vegas or California. He no longer does international cards or regular TV events. Speaking on a recent “Fight Companion” episode of his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience”, Rogan touched on […]

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UFC 234 Prelims Post Record Numbers On ESPN

The pairing of the premier mixed martial arts promotion in the world and the worldwide leader in sports continues to be a hit. According to the sports media giant, the airing of the UFC 234 prelims on ESPN & ESPN Deportes drew the second highest-rated pay-per-view prelims on record: ESPN Media Zone published an itemized […]

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The pairing of the premier mixed martial arts promotion in the world and the worldwide leader in sports continues to be a hit.

According to the sports media giant, the airing of the UFC 234 prelims on ESPN & ESPN Deportes drew the second highest-rated pay-per-view prelims on record:

ESPN Media Zone published an itemized breakdown of the rousing success:

  • UFC 234 PPV Prelims aired on ESPN and ESPN Deportes from 8-10 p.m. and averaged a 1.0 metered market rating
  • Based on preliminary ratings, ESPN’s transmission of the Prelims ties with several other PPV Prelims as the second highest-rated PPV Prelim on record, behind a 1.1 metered market rating for 11/12/16 UFC 205 PPV Prelim (McGregor/Alvarez)
  • Last night’s PPV Prelims were up 100% from the UFC 221 PPV Prelims (Romero/Rockhold) that aired on February 10th, 2018 (0.5 rating)
  • The telecast followed the Virginia/Duke game and peaked with a 1.7 metered market rating and during the Ishihara vs. Kang fight.

UFC 205 prelims still hold the record, albeit by the narrowest of margins. No doubt Conor McGregor helped move the needle for that event.

I know we’re only two months into this partnership, but you would have a hard time arguing the UFC/ESPN deal has been anything but great for the UFC and the sport as a whole thus far.

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ESPN+ Signs Up Big Numbers Thanks To First-Ever UFC Event

The first-ever UFC event on their new ESPN platform was a grand slam for The Worldwide Leader In Sports. ESPN+ signed up over a half a million new users for their streaming service on Saturday. That is by far the most successful day in the streaming platform young history. They also signed up 43,000 new […]

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The first-ever UFC event on their new ESPN platform was a grand slam for The Worldwide Leader In Sports.

ESPN+ signed up over a half a million new users for their streaming service on Saturday. That is by far the most successful day in the streaming platform young history. They also signed up 43,000 new subscribers on Friday, most of which has been attributed to the champion vs. champion main event for UFC Brooklyn.

The prelims which aired on ESPN and were headlined by Donald Cerrone vs. Alexander Hernandez averaged a 1.4 rating in the major markets. For comparison purposes, that number would be ahead of what most FOX cards averaged in recent years. It would also be the highest rated prelims for a non-PPV show dating back at least five years.

Official ratings will not be made available until Tuesday (Jan. 22, 2019).

According to ESPN, 1.8 million unique visitors searched MMA related content across all related ESPN platforms.

”All day, and across all platforms, we collectively demonstrated the promise of what we can do to fulfill our mission of serving a wider array of sports fans,” said ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro.

Star Power

The UFC did a good job at peppering fan friendly fighters such as Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Paige VanZant throughout the card. Although Cerrone and “PVZ” may not pack the name recognition as Conor McGregor, there were more than 1.6 million Google searches for the event. Which would have been the third-most of any event in 2018, trailing only UFC 229 and 232.

”Our first UFC Fight Night on ESPN+ was a thrilling evening of action and a great success. With a record-setting night that continued the momentum for ESPN+, delivered strong ratings on ESPN and marks a great start to our new agreement with the UFC,” said Kevin Mayer, Chairman, Direct-To-Consumer and International for The Walt Disney Company. “It was a milestone evening. With the success driven by outstanding joint efforts from the teams at DTCI and ESPN.”

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Darren Till vs. Jorge Masvidal to Headline UFC’s Return to London On March 16

Darren Till will fight on home soil once again when he headlines the UFC’s upcoming return to London while facing Jorge Masvidal in the main event on March 16. UFC president Dana White announced the news via ESPN on Wednesday. Till will be making his f…

Darren Till will fight on home soil once again when he headlines the UFC’s upcoming return to London while facing Jorge Masvidal in the main event on March 16. UFC president Dana White announced the news via ESPN on Wednesday. Till will be making his first appearance since falling by submission to welterweight champion Tyron […]

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TJ Dillashaw More Concerned About Being No. 1 Pound-for-Pound Than Becoming Champ-Champ

T.J. Dillashaw is all about legacy these days. After vanquishing his former teammate Cody Garbrandt for the second time last August, Dillashaw started to move onto bigger and better goals — namely the pursuit of a second UFC championship. That’s why on…

T.J. Dillashaw is all about legacy these days. After vanquishing his former teammate Cody Garbrandt for the second time last August, Dillashaw started to move onto bigger and better goals — namely the pursuit of a second UFC championship. That’s why on Saturday night, Dillashaw will drop down to 125 pounds for a shot at […]

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