Bloody Elbow :: The Challenge of Primetime
Quote:
By Michael Rome Posted on Mon Mar 03, 2008 at 12:54:35 PM EDT
Dave Meltzer reports Zuffa's company line on the CBS deal:
Quote: 'There was definitely a lot of talk regarding the CBS/Pro Elite deal from people at Zuffa. The line, since it was repeated often, is that they don't believe enough people will watch the first show, noting how Saturday Night's Main Event in a similar time slot with the far more popular WWE didn't do well.'
I think this talking point has a lot of salience. The WWE has weekly mainstream TV with millions of total viewers. They heavily hyped their first show, and ended up doing a 3.11, followed by a 2.65. The deal has gone completely sour since then, and it has been acknowledged as a ratings disaster.
Now, consider that UFC's highest overall rating for a TV show ever is a 3.1, a number considered a disaster by NBC. Can Elite XC top UFC's highest number ever on their first show?
|
It will be very interesting to see how EliteXC's ratings look considering there aren't very many people besides hardcore fans and random Showtime subscribers who even know that EliteXC exists. Unless they can come up w/ a huge main event like Kimbo vs Ken Shamrock I don't see how they will pull good numbers. Hell, Kimbo vs Shammy might not even be enough to get the type of ratings the major networks consider a success. And the possibility of that match being set up is predetermined on whether or not Shammy gets KOed in his next fight which could easily happen considering his past performances. If it does happen, I can't think of a fight they could put on that would draw any semblance of a respectable rating.
****UPDATE
Well, now that Shammy looked like garbage in the Berry fight, I think it is safe to say we won't be seeing him against Kimbo.
So I really don't see how Elite is going to pull decent ratings with the roster they have.