CBS Hoping for 3 Million to 4 Million Viewers for EliteXC
Necessity and opportunity are the reasons why the sport of mixed martial will gets its shot on broadcast television, CBS Primetime Senior Executive Vice President Kelly Kahl explained at a news conference Monday in Los Angeles.
"The major networks aren't really programming Saturday the way they used to," Kahl told the 50-plus media members in attendance. "Saturday nights on network TV used to be the home of great event programming. We saw the opportunity to get some of that back."
Though CBS and Viacom Chairman Summer Redstone said only a month ago that the network "may have made a mistake" by agreeing to air EliteXC "Primetime" on May 31 at 9 p.m. EST, Kahl didn't show even a hint of hesistation in his company's choice.
Flanked by ProElite Executive Chairman Doug DeLuca and EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw, Kahl was the third member of a united front.
"Many people write that it's the fastest growing sport," Kahl told Sherdog.com. "We couldn't find anything to refute that. It gave us the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a really emerging sport."
It seems CBS is ready to put that claim to the test. May 31's "Primetime" is the first of four events the network has tentatively agreed to air in 2008 -- a very real litmus test to gauge just how accepted MMA has and could become in the mainstream arena.
The coveted slot was sought out by numerous fight organizations, including the UFC, which holds a commanding share of the MMA market with both live and taped programming on cable network Spike TV, as well as lucrative pay-per-view events. Audiences of "The Ultimate Fighter" range between 1 million and 2 million viewers per week, and UFC pay-per-view events average between 200,000 and 500,000 buys per event.
Undoubtedly, the 15-year-old UFC is the "tried and true" brand. Still, CBS chose EliteXC, which landed a deal with premium pay channel Showtime a year and a half ago and has promoted a dozen events since. Both Showtime and CBS are owned by Viacom.
"We talked to a lot of organizations, and essentially these guys were already in the family with Showtime," Kahl told Sherdog.com. "We liked these guys. At the end of the day, we were able to strike a better deal with these guys than any other organization."
Kahl also dispelled speculation that a UFC deal evaporated over the promotion's insistence for creative control over their events.
"That was never a problem," Kahl said. "That was never a part of the discussion with them. I do think that's a misconception. That's really not the case."
With CBS's bet now firmly hedged, it will be the numbers that will decide if MMA flourishes or flounders on broadcast television. Not only will "The Eye" be watching, but rumored live-event deals for Strikeforce on NBC and the UFC on FOX could also hang in the balance.
"There's a lot of pressure, not just for us, but for the sport," DeLuca said. "Everyone's saying that right now. If this doesn't do well on network television, what does that mean for the sport?"
Kahl said the easiest way to measure EliteXC's success will be to hold its ratings up to the current Saturday night programming's marks, though the network is hoping to see "increased younger demographics."
With that, Kahl said CBS hopes to net three million to four million viewers when overnight sensation Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson slugs it out with James Thompson (Pictures) on May 31.
In September 2007, a Spike TV telecast of UFC 75 "Champion vs. Champion" drew 4.7 million viewers and peaked at 5.6 million during a bout between Quinton Jackson (Pictures) and Dan Henderson (Pictures). The audience remains the largest for the sport in North America.
To keep their viewers coming back, EliteXC and CBS will offer an introduction montage, which will set up the rules and demonstrate the basic moves to newcomers.
"One thing that we'll do, much like the way the NFL did with football, where they taught people how to watch football, we're going to help the non-fan learn how to watch MMA," DeLuca said.
With only a two-hour slot and five fights to air, Kahl said the night will roll out quickly.
"Unlike some of the pay-per-views you might see, where it's a fight every 40 minutes, this is going to haul along," he said. "One fight's done and we're teeing up the next right away."
Though May 31 has all the makings of a "make or break" scenario, Kahl said the door will not necessarily close if expectations fall short.
"It's kind of one of those ‘we'll know it when we see it' numbers," Kahl said. "If the results are less than outstanding, we'll try and regroup and see what we did wrong."
