Full info and analysis on the last two weeks of Ultimate Fighter ratings is now up on MMAWeekly, including what the ratings were before Monday Night Football and after Monday Night Football, how MNF has also affected the ratings of WWE Raw, how the first five weeks of TUF 2 compare to the first five weeks of TUF 1, the tentative plans for TUF 3, and where ratings for the last two episodes rank in the history of TUF episodes. Check it out at the URL below, and post any comments that you have in this thread.
Monday Night Football certainly isn't the only reason that TUF's ratings have been down the past two weeks, nor is Monday Night Football the only reason that WWE Raw's ratings have been down the past two weeks. But it is certainly a big reason, as MNF attracts a lot of the same demographics as TUF.
What moron couldn't have seen this coming..I mean Monday football is only like the top rated tv show each week and how could they have expected those who may be new fans of MMA to just quit watching football in the middle of the game?
lol at blaming MNF, blame that boring ass show except matt hughes. I think the same MMA fans watch that show week in and week out which exlplains the average 1.5-1.7 ratings. No one new watches. I really dont give a fuck though as long as those free Ulitmate fight night shows keep coming.
lol at blaming MNF, blame that boring ass show except matt hughes. I think the same MMA fans watch that show week in and week out which exlplains the average 1.5-1.7 ratings. No one new watches. I really dont give a fuck though as long as those free Ulitmate fight night shows keep coming.
lata hata
Last week's episode was the final straw for me, I wont be watching it anymore. Seriously, I've seen schoolyard fights when I was in fifth grade that were a helluva lot more brutal and entertaining than what I've seen on TUF.
"What moron couldn't have seen this coming... how could they have expected those who may be new fans of MMA to just quit watching football in the middle of the game?"
Spike TV certainly knew that Monday Night Football would take a chunk out of The Ultimate Fighter's ratings, especially in the advertiser-coveted young male demographics, but I don't think they realized the extent of it. There are four months out of the year during which Monday Night Football has regular season NFL games on the schedule on Monday nights, and it was a mistake for Spike TV to schedule TUF to go head-to-head with Monday Night Football.
Again, I agree with those of you who have said that Monday Night Football is not the one and only reason for TUF's ratings decline, but it is one big reason for it. When TUF 2 averages 1.7 in the ratings before MNF, and 1.45 in the ratings when MNF is on, that means MNF is having some effect, but as with any reality show there are undoubtedly people who lose interest in the show during the course of the season and don't watch it anymore (or as often).
I also wouldn't disagree with the statement that if the show had excellent fights every week, more people would stick with TUF even it meant missing football, but that's not something that can be controlled.
In the fall of 2006, it will be extremely interesting to see how Monday Night Football affects the ratings of WWE Raw and The Ultimate Fighter (assuming TUF is still on Monday nights and not some other night by then). MNF will be on ESPN starting next season, and there's no way in hell they're going to draw a 10 rating every week on cable television. It will be fascinating to watch.
"So you're saying Spike TV thought they were going to take away a big part of Monday Night Football's ratings? LMFAO, OK."
Not at all. The issue is not, "How are we going to get people who are hardcore Monday Night Football fans to stop watching MNF every week?" The issue is, "How can we prevent the hardcore fans of our show from tuning out of our show in order to see MNF?"
Different shows have different levels of success with that. Just looking at the ratings for this past Monday night, CSI Miami drew a 12.1 rating, not only crushing its timeslot nemesis Medium on NBC (which drew an 8.4 rating), but it also beat Monday Night Football. CSI Miami was the #1 show on television on Monday night not just in overall ratings, but also in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic.
On the other hand, look at how Fox's new Monday night line-up got off the ground (or tried to) against Monday Night Football.
Of course, at the time it was scheduled they didn't know that there would be two different Monday Night Football games on September 19th and that coverage would start on ABC at 7:30 PM, but Fox's new 8:00 PM comedy hour on Monday night went head-to-head with the Saints-Giants game on ABC and got crushed like an ant. Arrested Development, one of the best shows on television, drew a horrible-for-network-TV rating of 3.0, and the seriess premiere of the comedy Kitchen Confidential did even worse with a 2.8 rating. By network TV standards, that is very bad.
In the case of TUF, it's unfortunate for the UFC, but it is threatened by the spectre of Monday Night Football far more than most TV shows on Monday nights, because a large percentage of TUF's audience is actually traditional sports fans. While the UFC on Spike TV consistently draws better ratings than the NBA on ESPN, there was no way they were going to go head-to-head with Monday Night Football and take a hit in the ratings.