Promotional power is one of the most important aspects of success when it comes to the business of professional sports. The more people that hear about the upcoming event and the stars involved in it, the more potential spectators are created. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is taking full advantage of its partnership with Fox Sports in the second year of their deal, as the kickoff of the 2013 – 2014 NFL season saw not only football action this past Sunday on Fox, but the promotional strategy of the UFC on its new network home.
In 2012 the National Football League hit record highs in viewership throughout the season. Here are just a number of the accolades that the NFL brought in during the busy sports part of the year: NFL games accounted for 31 of the 32 most watched TV shows among all programming during the 2012 – 2013 season; an NFL game was the most watched TV show during all 17 weeks of the regular season; NFL games on CBS, Fox, and NBC averaged 19.3 million viewers during the season; and Sunday late afternoon NFL games continued to draw more viewers than anything else that was available on television.
How does that translate into promotional power for the UFC? One only needs to look back to this past Sunday for examples. During the games that were played on Fox — both the early and late afternoon games, including the “Game of the Week” between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers — promotional material for the new season of The Ultimate Fighter received prominent placement on air. On multiple occasions, the broadcasters spoke about the newly-debuted season, and some even mentioned particular contestants by name. The allure of Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate notwithstanding, this is a major opportunity for the UFC to capitalize on this partnership.
Ratings-wise, the best -performing UFC on Fox cards last year were those that aired during the football season. And the UFC should expect even bigger numbers this year as one of the featured sports properties on the newly-launched Fox Sports 1 cable network. While the channel’s ratings have dipped since the 1.7 million viewers that tuned into UFC Fight Night 26 on Fox Sports 1, the ratings for UFC events have vastly outpaced the rest of the network’s offerings, so much so that the UFC was able to get its preliminary cards moved from the lower-profile Fox Sports 2 network to better take advantage of the UFC’s appeal.
As such, the ratings of TUF 18, along with the upcoming UFC cards for the remainder of 2013, are vital for the organization. If promoted correctly, the UFC has an opportunity to boost its ratings, and draw high numbers on “slow” sports nights on the brand new network, positioning itself as an indispensible piece of the Fox Sports puzzle, and guaranteeing further promotion on NFL Sundays.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is looking to ride on the shoulders of the most popular sport in North America, as the 2013 – 2014 NFL season has gotten off to a roaring start. These next few months are important in gauging the direction that the UFC is headed; Fox has thrown its full promotional strength behind its new bedfellow, and the success of the UFC could have mutually beneficial effects on both entities.
