Well, its seems like it wasn't that long ago that everyone was worried about how good of a job Strikeforce, CBS, and Showtime were going to do to sell/market this event on network TV.  As with anything that Strikeforce does, they never over exert themselves and their costs, and they seem to do just enough to make their events a success.  Now that we are a few days away, here are some of the more interesting stories leading up to the event.

CBS Commercial Ads Sold-Out For Strikeforce Fedor vs Rogers

Fight Camp 360 on Showtime/CBS, ESPN, USA Today, and Chicago Sun-Times to just name a few, Strikeforce and CBS finally seem to be hitting their promotional stride for this event.  One of the important aspects of Saturday's event will be how the ratings do, but more importantly for CBS is what kind of advertisers they have acquired by putting MMA on prime time network again.  First, lets look at how CBS is doing compared to other networks in regards to ad sales and revenue.

First, MMAPayout digs a great piece from BusinessWeek.com, which reports that CBS will bring more advertising dollars than any of the other big four networks in 2009:

Everywhere you look these days, network TV executives seem to be shredding their playbooks and experimenting with their programming. The prevailing sentiment seems to be: We’ll do whatever it takes to cut costs and keep viewers tuning in. Exhibit A: Jay Leno, who has stepped out from behind his late-night desk to yuck it up on NBC during prime time.

Then there’s CBS, where it’s same old, same old. Yes, the Tiffany Network has added a Los Angeles spin-off to its military crime show NCIS, and launched The Good Wife, a ripped-from-the-headlines drama about the lawyer wife of a philandering politician. But mostly CBS is relying on sitcoms and police procedurals–the very definition of Old Media.

How is that working out for CBS? Pretty well, it seems. Three weeks into the fall season, it’s on a roll. With 12 shows in Nielsen’s top 20, including the top-rated comedy, Two and a Half Men, and its most popular drama, NCIS, CBS draws an average of 12.4 million prime-time viewers, 2.4 million more than runner-up ABC. Meanwhile, the stock has been handily outperforming those of its peers. “They’ve proven anyone wrong who thought that no matter what a network did, their audiences would continue to erode,” says Andrew Donchin, who works for the media buying agency Carat North America and helps buy ad time on CBS for such companies as Pfizer, Black & Decker, and Papa John’s International.

Here is how they stack up:

GROSS AD REVENUES

(BILLIONS)*

CBS $4.7

NBC 4.6

ABC 3.8

Fox 2.8

*2009 estimate

Data: SNL Kagan

In terms of MMA and in anticipation for the upcoming Strikeforce event, CBS executive vice president for primetime programming Kelly Kahl previously had this to say about Fedor's ability to boost credibility among sponsors:

"I think (Fedor) made it a lot easier for our sales guys and our sales are going very, very well for this fight," said Kahl. "To be able walk in with a presentation and show Fedor shows a credibility and it speaks volumes to have a world-class fighter and maybe the best in the world. I think it certainly made it an easier sell than maybe we’ve had in the past."

Kahl said movies studios, automobile purveyors, and video game companies are among those that have bought commercial slots.

"EA Sports is unveiling a preview of their MMA game in this fight exclusively," said Kahl. "In terms of getting mainstream sports reporters interested, Fedor gives us the credibility that maybe we didn’t have before.

 

Now, Sherdog reports that all CBS commercial Ad spots are sold out for this event.

Commercial spots for CBS’s Saturday Night Fights broadcast of Strikeforce/M-1 Global "Fedor vs. Rogers" have completely sold out, according to Kelly Kahl, executive vice president for primetime programming for the network.

"I’d say this was probably a quicker sellout than the EliteXC shows," said Kahl, who added that the addition of top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko has piqued interest in "premium advertisers" from the auto, movies, and video gaming genres.

Aside from ratings, advertising sales are a second way that networks can gauge interest in its programming. Kahl said that other sporting events on CBS usually complete their advertising sales a day or two before air date if that.

Among those scheduled around the live broadcast, EA Sports will unveil a preview of its MMA game due out in 2010.

If you can recall, CBS did a great job selling ads for the first EliteXC event on CBS.   On the other hand, they had a tough time selling ad spots for their next two events.  One reason is that the second event didn't have Kimbo or Gina Carano, but most importantly, the bad economy was starting to take a toll on the networks.  This is another good sign for CBS and Strikeforce.  A rating greater than 2.0 and about 4-5 million people would be a home run for CBS.

More stories after the jump...

Strikeforce/CBS's Marketing Brings In...My Mom?

Here is a pretty interesting story from Tony Preston over at BleacherReport:

Today, I had a great conversation about MMA with my mom.  I thought I would never have a conversation with my mom about MMA.  She knows that I have watched MMA since high school and since I got to college have been doing a little training, but we never really talk about it.  She knows that it is called Mixed Martial Arts and that the UFC is just one promotion but that is about it.

Today, I had just gotten back to my dorm after class when I got a call from my mom.  She was watching CBS and had just seen a commercial for the Strikeforce card this weekend.  She asked me my opinion on Fedor and if I thought he was the best in the world.  This lead into me telling her about Brett Rogers and the other fights on the card.

At the end of the conversation she said that she would probably watch at least a few of the fights on Saturday just to check it out.  This surprised me and I asked why.  She said that it must be decent if it is on CBS.

HDNet To Televise Strikeforce Weigh Ins Via IMMA

"Big" John McCarthy Joins EA Sports MMA

One of Strikeforce's biggest sponsor, EA Sports MMA, will not only be releasing new video game footage of their MMA title next year, but they are also announcing that MMA great Big John will be in their video game.  Not official yet, but I have also heard that Jake Shields will be in the game as well.  Nick "The Goat" Thompson will also be announced in the near future as a participant in the game, along with Matt Lindland and other Strikeforce and Bellator fighters.  The exclusive video footage will also be made available in Japan, which will go along with EA's theme of making EA  Sports MMA a world wide title.

Video: http://mma.easports.com/home.action

Strikeforce on Tape Delay? Orlando Station Responds to Fan Outrage

Steve Cofield over at Yahoo write up this piece about how UG members were able to get their CBS affiliate network to show Strikeforce Fedor vs Rogers LIVE instead of being delayed until 1AM.  Great stuff from the UG and MMA fans.

Power to the people! According to a thread on the Underground Forum, WKMG, the CBS affiliate in Orlando, had originally planned to show this Saturday's Strikeforce mixed martial arts show on a tape-delayed basis at 1:35 a.m. on Sunday morning. In the MMA show's place was going to be "Legend of the Seeker."

After voicing their displeasure, some UG readers received emails this morning, from the station's General Manager Skip Valet, again stating that the fight card could be seen on Sunday morning or live at CBS.com. Then mysteriously a switch was made:

 

Cagewriter spoke with Valet who said CBS made a late change in available programming and the station was unaware of the opportunity to show the fight card live.