For kickboxing fans, the ratings game for Glory is an important one. It’s been terrific having kickboxing on TV in the US again, especially on a network with the reach of Spike, and for that to continue, ratings count. Those ratings are now in for Glory 13, and the news is good.
Glory 13 Tokyo drew an average of 659,000 viewers. That’s a 38% increase over the 476,000 average for Glory 12, and a whopping 73% increase since the company’s Spike debut at Glory 11. Importantly, that 659,000 number puts them right in line with ratings for Bellator and some UFC shows, which is excellent.
Also noteworthy here is that there were two separate peaks. The first was a peak of 905,000, which came quite early in the show. That is consistent with what we saw at Glory 11 & 12 thanks to the lead-in numbers from (ugh) Cops. However this time there was a second peak of 873,000 at 10:43 – meaning the show picked up viewership heading into the final two fights.
Add in the fact that this was a tape-delayed show, and you have another hit for Glory and Spike here.
Overall, this is excellent news. As I have said in the past, the executives at both Spike and Glory have stressed that they are primarily looking for ratings growth from show to show in order to demonstrate that kickboxing is a viable option on Spike, and that’s exactly what we are seeing.
Let’s hope the trend continues when the company returns in March for Glory 14 Zagreb and Mirko Cro Cop vs. Remy Bonjasky.
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