6.51 million watched Elite XC
Date: 2008-10-13 05:58:14
Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/4492/elitexc-on-cbs-peak...
Submitted By: MMA Fight Dump
This past Saturday's "EliteXC: PRIMETIME" event, which aired on CBS as part of the new "Saturday Night Fights" series, peaked with 6.51 million viewers during a main event between Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and James Thompson, according to updated Nielsen live plus same day ratings for May 31. The ratings for the final 51 minutes of the event weren't initially available because the event ran past its two-hour scheduled time. The addition of that data lifted ratings for the entire broadcast and eclipsed previous U.S. MMA ratings records held by the UFC and Spike TV. The UFC's two highest rated events on Spike TV are UFC 75 (5.93 million viewers) and UFC Final Chapter: Ortiz vs. Shamrock III (5.89 million), according to a an email sent today by Spike TV. Spike TV is in 96.1 million homes. CBS is in 112.8 million. As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported on Sunday, the 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern portion of the show did a 2.7 rating and a 5 share, an audience of 4.3 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings for Saturday. While leading up to the event, EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw had estimated the show would garner anywhere from four million to 10 million viewers. The event delivered an overall 3.0/06 (rating/share) with 4.85 million viewers; 2.2/07 in both adults 25-54 and adults 18-49; 2.3/09 in adults 18-34; 3.1/09 in men 25-54; 3.0/10 in men 18-49; and 3.2/12 in men 18-34. "Saturday Night Fights" cleared approximately 95 percent of CBS stations in the country. The telecast was pre-empted in those remaining markets due to coverage of the Children’s Miracle Network Telethon. Much like Spike TV's brodcast of The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale that put the UFC on the map in 2005, Saturday's EliteXC broadcast saw half-hour gains in viewers throughout the broadcast. A total of 3.38 million viewers were watching at 9 p.m., and the broadcast peaked at 6.51 million at 11:30 p.m. EliteXC also today announced that a replay of "EliteXC: PRIMETIME" will air on Showtime on Friday, June 13 at 11 p.m. ET/PT.