Let the debate about The Ultimate Fighter’s debut ratings begin.
On Monday, the cable network released the numbers for Friday’s live debut with 1.3 million viewers tuning in, good for a 0.95 household rating for FX.
The near three-hour MMA extravaganza featured 16 live fights from Las Vegas with the winners moving into the house for the opportunity to compete for a UFC contract.
Based on a sample of social media when the news hit, the numbers are being viewed anywhere from extremely positive to very negative with some immediately pointing to TUF’s ratings on Spike for last season’s debut (1.5 million) and the expectations being higher with the mass amount of advertising both sides did leading up to the show.
On the flip side, FX Senior VP of Public Relations John Solberg pointed out on Twitter that a re-air of Transformers 2 and TUF helped the network get to No. 1 with adults 18-34 and 18-49, among other highlights.
Longtime MMA reporter and TV ratings expert Dave Meltzer added the following in his daily update:
“The Ultimate Fighter on FX debut averaged 1.3 million viewers for its nearly three hours on Friday night. That’s much lower than expected and worse news was the ratings pattern was terrible, constantly declining throughout the show.”
The final season of TUF on Spike drew an average of 1.5 million viewers per episode and their Kimbo Slice-driven rerun opposition averaged 653,000 viewers.