UFC Touts Ratings Success of CBS Debut

UFC has come out swinging on the viewership from its maiden voyage on CBS. 

The MMA giant started its seven-year, $7.7 billion media rights deal with CBS’s parent company, Paramount, at the beginning of this year. A vast majority of the UFC content is slated to air exclusively on the Paramount+ streaming service, with some shows being simulcast on CBS.

UFC 326, which aired this past Saturday, was the first event in the partnership that had a CBS component. That included the final hour of prelim matches and the first hour of the main card airing on the wide-reach broadcast network. 

Nielsen ratings data released Tuesday indicate that 2.5 million viewers watched the event on CBS. UFC put out a graphic on social media with some added context, noting:

• It was the biggest UFC linear TV viewership in a decade
• It drew 30% more viewers than the “season-to-date” average in the same time slot, 8-10 pm ET on Saturdays, including +208% in the 18-34 demographic and +190% in 18-49
• It drew 273% last year’s UFC average on linear TV (when events aired on ESPN or ABC). 

This number did not include the Paramount+ audience. The CBS component alone drew higher viewership than Warriors-Thunder on ABC and the Alabama-Auburn men’s basketball game on ESPN Saturday night. 

It continues to be an interesting question how much UFC content is the right amount to simulcast on CBS. The primary purpose of the deal is to drive subscriptions to Paramount+, which costs $8.99 per month. Being on CBS opens the fight promotion up to new audiences, with the goal of getting them to subscribe after sampling. While nothing has been announced, FOS previously reported that the UFC White House bonanza in June is expected to have a CBS component. 

It remains to be seen whether there will be another CBS simulcast before the highly anticipated June 14 show. But even before the first UFC-CBS simulcast this past weekend, Paramount leadership expressed happiness with how the deal has gone in the early months. 

“We couldn’t be more thrilled about the way the UFC partnership has started,” Paramount chair and CEO David Ellison said in a call with analysts in February. “The partnership has started ahead of expectations, and we’ve seen UFC engaged with our other content and that flywheel working.”