TUF Nations numbers swinging wildly from episode to episode

Remember when Bellator was on MTV2. It was a channel that had no appeal to MMA fans, even hardcore ones who knew right where and when to find it. And as such, ratings for the "Toughest tournament in sports" often were subject to wild variation from event to event and usually clocked in somewhere between 100,000-300,000 viewers. It turns out that those numbers may be a pretty accurate reflection of the hardcore MMA fanbase in the US, and it's willingness to tune in for second tier MMA on a week to week basis. It's pretty much a precise reflection of the current numbers that the UFC's TUF Nations is pulling on Fox Sports 1. MMA Payout has the report:

Episode 1: 371,000 viewers
Episode 2: 253,000 viewers
Episode 3: 107,000 viewers
Episode 4: 384,000 viewers
Episode 5: 187,000 viewers

Obviously this most recent week's big drop-off may have something to do with the Winter Olympics, but it's not exactly out of line for how the show has drawn all season. It should be noted that the UFC and Nascar are still the top draws for Fox Sports on a week to week basis, so I doubt that these numbers put the UFC's plans for future season in serious jeopardy, but they do offer a pretty interesting picture of just how many people are tuning in for some of the UFC's more generic content.

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