Will Ratings Sway ESPN? Brock Lesnar Scores Record Ratings for E:60

by Michael Rome on Oct 29, 2008 5:00 PM EDT in News Comment 20 comments

The executives at ESPN have long resisted MMA coverage. From their edict of "no coverage" after Shamrock-Ortiz to their reluctance to cover arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world in Anderson Silva, ESPN has done as much as possible to avoid covering MMA outside of the short period where they thought they might get UFC TV rights.

This is all well within their rights as a private company, and complaining will do nothing about it. The only thing groups like the UFC can do is try to persuade the people in charge to think differently, and to make the most of their few opportunities.

However, the recent Brock Lesnar piece on E:60 was a step in the right direction. Dave Meltzer reports in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the segment on Brock Lesnar was the highest rated segment in the short history of the show. The people at E:60, while clearly not MMA experts, have shown some interest in MMA in the past with pieces on Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano. Hopefully this success brings us some more pieces on MMA stars, and more exposure for MMA across the board on ESPN. MMA fans may be unable to convince old executives that their sport is legitimate, but MMA will be on the air there if it delivers in the ratings.

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ESPN use to cover the UFC weigh-ins. What ever happened to that?

by steveoc24 on Oct 29, 2008 5:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sooner or later ESPN will hop on board just like everyone else, to me The UFC and MMA in general is like a tidal wave sooner or later it’s gonna be big enough that it’ll enguld everything in it’s path.

by Raker on Oct 29, 2008 5:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Woo.

by Eugene Schelfaut on Oct 29, 2008 5:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Funny that a sports network that used to show AMA pro wrestling has a problem with the legitimacy of MMA. As a tv network it’s all about ratings, if MMA gets ratings then eventually they will end up covering it more.

by who me on Oct 29, 2008 5:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Actually...

On ESPN classic, they STILL show the AMA pro wrestling…but yet still won’t give MMA it’s due.

by ANance on Oct 29, 2008 9:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ESPN

i think if they could get MMA LIVE off the internet and on to live tv (or both) that would be a big step for mma. i would think they could find a measley hour a week somwhere on their schedule. it would probably get good ratings as well. maybee somwhere on espn2.

by bdw on Oct 29, 2008 6:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Maybe they could fit it in between car shows and the 2003 world poker tour re-runs.

by Luke Thomas on Oct 29, 2008 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ESPN

so true. :)

by bdw on Oct 29, 2008 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

good god...

My job has my schedule completely ass backwards so I’m up at 2 and 3am every night and there is not a SINGLE thing being shown that is pulling in half the ratings (DVR included) that MMA Live would pull. Seriously, the 2004 world series of poker was on like 4 times the past 2 nights.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Oct 29, 2008 9:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

World Series of Poker*, but yeah.

They really milk that shit dry.

by Mike Fagan on Oct 29, 2008 11:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think the Execs at ESPN fear a Penn/Stevenson fight early in the broadcast life of MMA telecasts. While core MMA people understand why the fight continued, the average MLB/NFL/NASCAR fan might think the fight should be stopped due the the shear amount of blood.

ESPN is a leader in sports news. They won’t take a chance on live MMA and risk the cash cow they now have. While maybe a show featuring undercard fights on 1-2 day delay might be an alterantive option, just getting ESPN to give the UFC/MMA any coverage is great.

Is ESPN owned by a parent company that owns Disney?

I have been reading BE for a very long time and just recently felt compelled to join and post. Keep up the good work. BE is my 1st stop after work everyday.

by Riney on Oct 29, 2008 6:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

im pretty sure disney owns abc who owns espn. or maybee disney just owns both.

by bdw on Oct 29, 2008 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Disney owns both. Hope they don’t fire me for airing their secrets.

by Day Man on Oct 29, 2008 6:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Disney is overly protective of their image to say the least. I am curious if they (Disney) have pushed ESPN to avoid the MMA scene? COMPLETELY guessing there. I have zero information to confirm this.

by Riney on Oct 29, 2008 7:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I doubt it; as protective as the mouse corporation is of their image, they’re already known for simply shifting moneymakers that don’t fit the Disney image to other corporations. I think it’s Touchstone Films that’s the Disney subsidiary that does all their violent/action movie projects. It likely has much more to do with old school thinking that just says MMA isn’t a money maker – especially given how many sports have risen and fallen dramatically over the years, without ever really challenging football, college football, baseball, and basketball for viewership supremacy (in pretty much that order, I think). I don’t buy that logic, but that’s because I follow the sport; probably not too many Disney execs fall into that category. They’re too busy golfing (which is also on ESPN way more than it needs to be).

by AJB on Oct 29, 2008 7:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ESPN shows boxing?

by Mike Fagan on Oct 29, 2008 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

glad you like

thanks for signing up and joining in!

by Kid Nate on Oct 29, 2008 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would think

That should ESPN covers MMA more, they will bring in guys with further expertise as opposed to just some typical analysts. Hell, they could end up hiring one of the fine dudes here at BE. : )

by Slica on Oct 29, 2008 7:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

if they dont have a broadcast deal with a sport..

… they wont give it equal coverage.

see: NHL

money, not well-rounded journalism, is their #1 priority. can’t really blame em

i dont think they’d be gunshy about blood during fights. they’ve shown boxing for years. i think they stuff have a bunch of dinosaurs on staff who cant be bothered to take a few hours to educate themselves about the sport. guys like tony rialli (host of around the horn) and josh rosenfeld (sportscenter anchor) are younger, and often defend/mention mma in a favorable light. makes sense. in comparison to sports like baseball and football, mma is a relative “noob”

by woooburn on Oct 29, 2008 9:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

WOW!

Lets not forget that we, the “hardcore” fan are still a very small minority. To use an analogy, think of us the “hardcores” as New England Patriot season ticket holders, we go to all the games follow all the players and it can ruin your day if the team loses. Now compare the “casual MMA fan” to the bandwaggoners that LOVE the Patriots when they’re winning, but know shit about football.

With that said MMA does not have enough of a “Hardcore” following to warrant the type of coverage that most of us believe they should. But let’s look where MMA has popped up recently on ESPN.

2 Lesnar – Couture Interviews
1 Lesnar Piece on E-60
1 Kimbo Piece on E-60
1 Gina Carano Piece on E-60
PPV results on the bottom ticker on ESPNEWS (thats huge)
Mention on PTI and Around the Horn
Mention on Rome Is Burning
A 40 minute MMA Live weekly webcast with 2.5 informed hosts (sorry mcneill)

ESPN has ramped up their MMA coverage exponentially in the last year and will continue to grow as MMA becomes more popular. It’s gonna get there, just give it some time. When MMA Live gets enough hits on the internet, believe me, they will find a TV time slot for it.

P.S. – The Patriots analogy above was used as a reference only because Pats fans are the biggest wagon jumpers ever. This is in no way an endorsement of the Patriots. Death To Brady.

by nitro on Oct 30, 2008 3:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs