Early Numbers Put Fedor vs. Rogers Near 4 Million
By Josh Stein on Nov 09, 2009
Early reports on the ratings for the Strikeforce event on CBS put the numbers very close to four million (3.8, essentially) and, as MMAJunkie points out, that number is soft.
Of course (and this may or may not surprise people) this does not break the current CBS broadcast record for an MMA event, held by EliteXC and the fight between Kimbo Slice and James Thompson.
However, Strikeforce is far more capable of drawing a consistent group of MMA fans, given the level of talent they can bring out on a regular basis that simply wasn’t available to the EliteXC management (who, realistically, didn’t hire enough talented fighters and didn’t push the ones they managed to get their hands on).
I suppose we’ll find out soon whether Strikeforce and CBS will continue to work together. With a number like that, it’s hard to imagine CBS walking away from the prospect of a second broadcast. Taking into consideration that Showtime will probably want to broadcast one of Strikeforce’s upcoming major shows, that may mean waiting until January or February (as opposed to the December 12th event at the HP Pavilion) for a second CBS broadcast, but it may be better for them to wait anyway, given that while the December 12th card will be a great event, it’s not going to feature the most notable fighters on the Strikeforce banner (Fedor, along with Gegard Mousasi and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, the two most visible title holders, are not slated for the card).
NOTE: The MMAJunkie article actually refers to the highest rated event as “EliteXC: Heat.” They actually mean “EliteXC: Primetime,” which featured the Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson fight. This is obviously a typo, as they correctly identify “EliteXC: Heat” later in the same paragraph.
Filed Under: MMA
I thought it would get a lot more viewers than that. I hate to do a comparison with the UFC but just a few weeks ago an episode of TUF got more viewers. I just can’t believe this show didn’t draw more viewers than a fight between Kimbo and Roy Nelson on TUF. At least if I am remembering correctly that TUF episode did around 5 million viewers.
I know Strikeforce is saying they are happy with that number but behind closed doors I don’t think they can be happy. I mean when Kimbo can pull in more viewers on Spike than Fedor can on CBS they can’t be too happy. Maybe that isn’t exactly a fair comparison but it’s what came to my mind.
You’re right on the numbers, Matt. What you’ve got to keep in mind is that EliteXC broke 4 million multiple times on the back of Kimbo Slice.
As much as we’d like to believe that Fedor is a huge draw, he’s really not. I think he will be once people realize how incredible he is, but for now, a crossover figure (even one as mediocre, athletically, as Kimbo Slice) has a larger mainstream appeal, and that’s what matters.
If CBS and Strikeforce want to increase that number they need to add Gina Carano on the card. You’re right Josh, right now Fedor is not that much of a draw and Strikeforce needs to recognize that. Also Rogers was a perhaps a more known name than any of his future opponents amongst casual fans.
Also they need new announcers in my opinion. I never liked Mauro Ranallo when he was with Pride, he just seems to “Pro Wrestling” (can the guy stop yelling?). Gus Johnson just seems lost at times,and Shamrock and Militech are good enough for fight analysis just not play by play. You would think with CBS’s sports line up and Showtime they could get some better ones.
Bill
This is off topic but nobody seems to have touched on it anywhere and I’m curious to get another opinion on it.
I thought the whole point of co-promotion for M-1 was to build their brand recognition. I didn’t see much M-1 branding at all. I don’t remember seeing M-1 on the mat or on the cage anywhere. I only saw a small M-1 logo on Fedor’s gear. Coming back from breaks they did have a Strikeforce/M-1 sign pop-up but other than that I don’t recall much mention of M-1. Even in this article you refer to it as just a Strikeforce event and nothing about M-1.
Where I’m going with this is I don’t think M-1 can be happy with the amount of coverage they got for their brand if that was their intentions with the co-promotion demands?
Sorry for going off topic but I’ve been wondering about this and wanted another opinion on it.
Meh. They may be upset about it, but they shouldn’t be. The fact is, M-1 brought two big names to the fight (Mousasi and Fedor), but only sort of, because the reality is that Fedor signed a contract with the Strikeforce brand and Mousasi is really a part of Dream and now Strikeforce.
Frankly, I think M-1 Global is doing what organizations like WAMMA failed so phenomenally to do: they’re acting as a mediator by representing the biggest independent fighters.
As we start to see names like Mamed Khalidov spring up, I think M-1 is going to work to make sure they represent these guys, but they’re not going to promote them on their own brand. They’re already doing this with King Mo. It’s an interesting way to make money, and it is, to the best of my knowledge, a new approach.
Of course, I may be misreading this, but it seems to me that M-1 Global has a lot of resources, and they have shown a good deal of disinterest in their own promotion. This seems like a pretty good indicator that I’m right on that one.
From the way you describe it, Josh, it seems that M-1 wants to act as a union/management for their fighters. To go to the negotiating tables for their “clients” they would be the mediator whilst placing their brand on the show itself.
I’ve thought for a while the fighters need a union instead of negotiating directly with the orgs or through their managers. They need a base pay rate and guarenteed medical coverage. All that stuff, as far as we know, is up in the air. Maybe the UFC pays for their fighter’s hospital expenses, maybe they don’t. But seeing some guys get paid 10K and others get 500K on the same show (I believe someone was actually paid 6K at UFCentury while Lesnar got half a mil)
Anyway this isn’t about the money issue. I figured that Fedor/Rogers wouldn’t pull better than a UFC show. As good as he is Fedor has no drawing power outside of his aura of dominance. Mainstream fans won’t appreciate his trip setups off of his right haymaker, they won’t see the beauty of his armbar technique, and they’ll never understand how he controls the ring/cage with small steps. Mainstream fans will never understand how a 5’11″ 235 pound heavyweight can make all of the giants in the world cower in fear while never changing his expression.
B, I don’t think that M-1 has any intention of acting as a mediator in the way that you’re thinking. You’re thinking of an attorney or a union leader. I’m talking about a pimp.
I’ll use this phrase, to explain my fear of what M-1 Global may very well be trying to do: I think M-1 may be trying to set themselves up as a pimp for their notable fighters.
Are there good potential outcomes? Sure. But I don’t think that the ones that pro-fighter-union individuals are thinking of are on the table with M-1.
I agree about Fedor’s drawing power, though. You’re right on that point.
I hate to argue since this is off topic but that don’t make sense to me.
If I’m understanding this correctly you seem to think that M-1 appears to be going the route of focusing more on representing fighters rather than focusing on M-1 as a promotional organization.
Demanding co-promotion with M-1 to get a deal done with Fedor tells me the exact opposite for some reason.
Vadim made sure to point out when the UFC deal didn’t work out and the Strikeforce deal did that exposure for M-1 Global was what he wanted and the money didn’t matter.
This is a quote from an article on The Fight Network made by Vadim in September when they announced the Fedor/Rogers fight:
“We are extremely proud to be working with Scott Coker, Strikeforce, CBS, and SHOWTIME, in what we consider to be a true co-promotional relationship,” said President and Founding M-1 Global owner Vadim Finkelchtein. “To be able to bring exposure to the M-1 name in front of such a large American viewing audience on national television is a tremendous achievement for M-1 Global.”
http://www.thefightnetwork.com/news/mma/4618/m1_global_officials_confirm_fedor_vs_rogers_on_nov_7
So to me based off of demanding co-promotion and his statement above about the reasons for it being exposure. I can’t believe M-1 is happy with the amount of exposure they got out of that if exposure was really what they wanted out of co-promoting.
If you want to tell me to go to hell for asking your opinion on something off topic and then disagreeing I would find that totally acceptable. Cause I do kind of feel like an ass for disagreeing after I asked your opinion.
Kinda makes ya think that Dana White should have just agreed to the whole co-promotion gig if it was just a couple references to M-1, huh?
Matt, I’m not gonna tell you to go to hell for asking a question. I like having these conversations, whether they’re relevant to the article or not.
What I think you’re missing, Matt, is that the co-promoting is an important part of representing the fighters. It’s not traditional, but it is a big deal.
Apart from gaining visibility, which is important, what co-promoting does is it gives M-1 a chance to insert their up-and-coming fighters into larger events (which is what they’re doing with King Mo later this year). It gives them a chance to represent all of their fighters.
Additionally, it gives them leverage in negotiating and drawing the attention of fighters who are looking to go to M-1, because it gives them the ability to say, “This is where M-1 fighters end up. See? You could be the next Fedor. Or the next Mousasi. Or the next King Mo. We can make that happen.”
It’s definitely about exposure, but bringing additional exposure isn’t about promoting their events.
If M-1 Global wanted exposure, they could have Fedor and Mousasi fight free agents as the co-main events for their card. They’d get huge publicity. But that’s not what they’re doing.
They’re building themselves up as an organization that works together, that is about bringing their fighters into the mainstream. It’s definitely new, but I’m not convinced it’s a good idea (or one that is really good for MMA as a whole).
O.k. I see what your saying now. That does change my opinion a little bit. However now I’m confused on something else I think.
So what your saying is M-1 wants to represent the fighters they are also promoting on fight cards.
Wouldn’t that be like Dana White representing half the fighters in the UFC while also running the UFC?
If Dana White was trying to represent fighters in the UFC while running the UFC I would consider it almost criminal. There is a clear conflict of interest if someone is doing both.
So why shouldn’t I feel that way about M-1 representing the fighters they are promoting on fight cards?
Yeah, it is a little bit like Dana representing the UFC fighters while also promoting them. And Dana (for all of the bad things I’ve said about the guy) definitely deserves credit for quitting as a manager when he became UFC President.
Frankly, I think (and this should be clear from my previous post) that what M-1 is doing IS shady and probably has some legal complications.
The difference, though, is that M-1 is copromoting, actually sending their top talent, for money, to other promotions. As far as I’m concerned, this is like pimping and (clearly) I’m not a fan.
I hope each fighter M-1 is representing does their homework and makes sure M-1 is getting the best deal for them as a fighter and not the best deal for M-1 the promotion.
Thanks for the discussion.