When the UFC moved a significant portion of it’s programming onto Fuel TV last year it wasn’t a great surprise that it lead to record ratings for the channel, but what’s bound to be pleasing for the TV execs is the fact that almost a year and a half later the sport is continuing to help them break records.
A busy schedule of UFC events in April lead to Fuel TV having it’s most watched month ever, offering up a ‘UFC On Fuel TV’ event, pre and post-fight shows and live weigh-ins alongside the usual weekly shows such as ‘UFC Tonight’.
In total the total viewership for the month was up 67% compared to April last year, while for the year as a whole so far they are also up 55% in households and 44% in the crucial 18-49 year-old male demographic compared with the same period in 2012.
Despite these successes all of the UFC’s Fuel TV programming is set to be transferred over to the brand new FOX Sports 1 channel when it launches in August and given that FS1 has a much larger reach, being available in aprox 90 million homes compared to around 34 million for Fuel TV, that should lead to a surge in ratings for that content.
