Will Randy Couture on Spike TV Outdraw Fedor Emelianenko on CBS? Does it Matter?
by Michael Rome on Oct 7, 2009 2:02 PM EDT
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On November 7, Strikeforce will put on the biggest fight it can possibly promote in Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers. There are lots of ratings predictions going around, but the truth is that almost nobody knows what Fedor will draw on CBS. The safe money puts the number between the 1.9 Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler draw and the 3.1 Kimbo Slice drew against James Thompson. The former number was a disaster, while the latter was an unmitigated success.
It's also worth noting that the two successful EliteXC shows on CBS featured Gina Carano on the undercard, where she set records for viewers gained over the course of a fight. Unless Strikeforce can land someone like Bobby Lashley, it doesn't look like they will have a strong semi-main event from a ratings perspective to help anchor their first show on CBS.
A week later, Randy Couture will fight Brandon Vera in Manchester. It's a fight that wouldn't draw a strong buyrate on pay per view, but it's a very strong main event for Spike TV. This fight will mark the first time Randy Couture has ever fought live on Spike TV, and if Spike heavily advertises what a big deal it is to have Randy fighting for free, they could be in for a ratings bonanza.
If the UFC household number is higher than the CBS number, expect Dana White to crow for weeks. Realistically, it's possible that both shows could be successful. If Fedor draws a 2.5 and Randy draws a 3.0, it's great for both companies and for both fighters.
Couture's fight is also up against Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto, but the boxing match shouldn't take anything away from the Spike rating. The two audiences don't overlap all that much, and the Pacquaio fight is on pay per view.
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Randy Couture v. Fedor Emelianenko in the Ratings
Will Randy Couture on Spike TV Outdraw Fedor Emelianenko on CBS?
No. But that’s a little misleading. It’s not Fedor that’s drawing, it’s an event on CBS. Fedor will certainly deserve some of the credit as the headliner, but I feel that just about any fight, if marketed during NFL games, will, when broadcast on CBS, outdraw a rather mundane fight on Spike.
Does it Matter?
No.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
Although, people will hold their MMA fandom cheap if they miss out on Brandon Vera slaughtering Randy Couture.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
CBS will always outdraw SPIKE
because it is in so many more homes as one of the Big Three networks.
Don’t be surprised if you start hearing from casual fans asking, “Who is fighting on the UFC show on CBS?” To most casual fans, MMA=UFC.
█♣█
A wise man told me don't argue with fools
Cause people from a distance can't tell who is who -- Jay-Z
I hate to incite a UFC vs Boxing war, but Mayweather Marquez did outdraw UFC 105 and possibly did take away some buyers.
Yeah, Rich Franklin set his all time high buyrate and beat virtually all serious projections for 103. I’m fairly sure the “war” actually helped them, as usual.
by Michael Rome on Oct 7, 2009 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Hmmmmm....
I remember a certain someone who had a pretty interesting hypothesis on drumming up a “war” between competing events in order to increase interest/hype/buys…who was that again??
I am the bastard love child of Junie Browning and Diamond Dave Kaplan.
I can see Randy outdrawing Fedor in this situation.
Who does Strikeforce have on that card that has any real name recognition with the general public?
Well, Mayhem is the only one with a modicum of celebrity… But I doubt 16-year-old girls who never change the channel from MTV will wanna watch him play Jitz with Shields.
They probly need to get Lashley on this show, it will guarantee some fresh eyeballs, what with the gamble that advertising always is.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
I disagree about it not really mattering if the UFC card gets more viewers.
I think that will officially signal to everyone that the UFC is really the only one that knows how to market and promote the sport.
If Strikeforce on CBS with the best fighter in the world, on network TV, during football season, can’t outdraw Randy fighting on Spike, it may cause people like M1 and the other networks to re-evaluate their thinking about working with the UFC. It will prove definitively that the UFC is what draws, more than it’s specific fighters or the sport as a whole.
I really don’t think a card on Spike can beat a card on Spike, but if it does happen, it means that the UFC is the machine, and mayeb some other people will change their point of view in order to hop on the bandwagon.
I really don’t think a card on Spike can beat a card on Spike…
I disagree.
by Cannon Jacques on Oct 7, 2009 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Irrefutable…unintelligible…I try to utilize many debating techniques myself.
by Cannon Jacques on Oct 7, 2009 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions
My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable, and I’m just ferocious. I want your heart. I want to eat his children. Praise be to Allah!
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
I think enough people have TiVo, DVR, whatever that it doesn’t even matter anymore.
Also… why isn’t it updating my already read comments? Instead of saying 5 comments, 0 new it keeps saying 5 comments, 2 new (for example).
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
And the site not updating my read posts is just happening to me, I take it?
Weird because it’s happening on both my desktop and my laptop.
Come on BJJD, I know you know the answer…
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
Nevermind
Now it suddenly works on my laptop, anyway. :/
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
Can people PLEASE stop assuming lashley will be a huge draw because he was a Pro Wrestler. He was never as good of a draw as brock,never as talented or athletic as Brock and never as charsimatic or over as brock.
While your points are valid, it’s not really about him drawing 1 million+ ppvs. It’s about Strikeforce having a name on their product that people are familiar with, it makes them more comfortable with the product. Would I have ever watch House if Kumar wasn’t on it? Fuck no.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
I was watching House before Kumar was on it.
But I have to wonder about Bobby Lashley. Not that I’m a wrestling aficionado, but I had never heard of him outside of MMA.
Don't argue for the sake of arguing....
by Screwface on Oct 7, 2009 2:31 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I quit watching wrestling while he was getting pushed, he had like the US title or some shit? I don’t remember…
But what I’m sayin is if ppl have disposable time and they see something familiar, they’ll stop to check it out for a min, and maybe even get hooked. I don’t watch House because I know every episode some rando disease is gonna threaten a four-year-old’s life, and House’s lightbulb will turn on at the end of the show and he’ll save the day while he’s skivved out on pain pills. I watched a little bit because Kumar is one of my heroes.
And maybe a little bit because of Olivia Wilde…
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
Yes but Bobby Lashley is not a familiar name.
Vince tried to make him the Black Brock but gave up. Say what you will about wrestling and McMahon, but the guy isn’t a complete moron. He gave up on making Lashley the black brock for a reason, it wasn’t working.
He may be a little familiar, but I think the mma community is way overvaluing the popularity of Lashley outside of the mma community.
Yeah, you may be right. I gave up on wrestling when they were pushing Lashley, so I never knew what became of him.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
I just know what I’ve looked up during his mma career, but nothing really came from him in the WWE, and you would be the perfect example if you weren’t watching wrestling around then? How much have you heard about him since you stopped watching wrestling? How much of that isn’t from mma sites? That’s the amount of familiarity he will have to the common fan, the one’s they need to mobilize to be successful.
You forgot to add House acts like a dick to everybody but gets away with it because he ends up right, usually.
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
You forgot to add *Dana* acts like a dick to everybody but gets away with it because he ends up right, usually.
Fixed. I assumed this is what you meant.
If by 'Kumar' you mean 'Taj'...
Van Wilder > H&K go to WC
'He built his whole reputation as a waffle house chef. They’ve been serving him up ham and eggs with a side of canned tomatoes' - Don Frye on Fedor Emelianenko
by Well Read Idiot on Oct 8, 2009 7:04 AM EDT up reply actions
Silva/Irving did a 2.2 household, forget the peak. One question is how TUF is doing at the time of this show. If they come close to maintaining ratings above a 2.0 until November, which i doubt, then this thing will have a lot of momentum. Randy is a much bigger name to the general public than Anderson Silva, this should beat that show.
Spike is not in every household is it?
And is the Randy fight on tape delay?
Both of those things could hurt it.
Spike is not in every household is it?
No, it’s not. CBS has a far bigger reach, which is why if Fedor can’t beat Randy on TV, to me, that says a whole lot about Fedor and the CBS / SF product.
I love me some Sexyama!
Why?
UFC has been promoting itself, its fighters and its fights for years. People commonly equate MMA to UFC. Strikeforce is a relatively new kid on the block.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
Definitely right about MMA being equated to the UFC by casual fans. The UFC should benefit once again by this CBS show.
I love me some Sexyama!
it doesn’t really say anything about fedor, it just confirms what most people should know, the man is not a draw on his own. If people don’t recognize this right now, they will just come up with some other crazy excuses to help themselves believe that this means something else.
by Phildo on Oct 7, 2009 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
REC'D
I am the bastard love child of Junie Browning and Diamond Dave Kaplan.
the key is the advertising,
Advertise ! Advertise ! Advertise ! if SF advertises like UFC, they will get 10 times more ratings…juost because everyne in USA has CBS (free as long as you have a TV that is).! period. but the whole success for UFC is their Hype machine, by no means i’m a UFC hater …(i love MMA !) UFC hypes B level fighters more then SF does for the best fighter in the planet…and yes i will always think FEDOR is numb 1…(maybe because i’m Armenian…and im bias to Russians) but the bottom line is if SF/CBS/Showtime advertise like UFC does…no question fedor VS Roger will do better…(not that it really matters).
Im a huge Fedor fan
but that night will be reserved for Ohio State vs Penn State. I fear college football will hurt the Strikeforce event. Ill def. be DVRing
This Should Help...
http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/10/07/watching-football-on-cbs-look-for-fedor-emelianenko
On Tuesday I wrote that I hadn’t seen any commercials promoting Fedor Emelianenko’s upcoming fight when I watched the NFL on CBS on Sunday, and I said I thought CBS was missing an opportunity to promote the best MMA fighter in the world to millions of viewers who have never heard of him.
But the folks at CBS tell me they’re already advertising Fedor, and they expect to promote him much more in the coming weeks.
Fedor was featured in an ad during the NFL Today pregame show, and CBS executive Kelly Kahl told me we’ll see more such ads this weekend, both during NFL coverage and during Saturday’s huge college game between Florida and LSU. Kahl added that online videos promoting Fedor will be coming soon, and that a “who is Fedor” campaign will heat up as the fight gets closer.
Depends what the UFC decides to put iup against the Strikeforce show if they put on one of their big ppv replays like UFC 101 it’s possible.
No and No, what matters is that they’re both free. Now to a more imortant issue at hand. What kind of alcohol and muchies will I be eating…
SHOGUN WILL SLAY THE DRAGON!!!
SHOGUN TO BE THE NEW LHW CHAMP!!!
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
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