UFC 149 Draws 235K PPV Buys, Prelims average 1 million

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/7/26/3188463/ufc-149-draws-235k-ppv-buys-pay-per-view-buyrate-mma-news
Despite UFC 149 being widely considered one of the most disappointing main cards in recent UFC history, it looks like they did solid numbers from a PPV perspective. At first glance 235K buys may seem low, but it's consistent with predictions and the established floor for lower drawing events. On top of that, the impact of injuries on the fight card cannot be ignored.

From Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer:

Quote :

The earliest PPV estimates are 235,000 buys, which is along the lines of what would be expected. Once again, keep in mind this is early and we should have a better number in a couple of weeks. It's a low number, but nobody expected different going in. It was probably helped because whenever UFC runs in Canada, they get so much mainstream media in that country that the PPV numbers do well in that country and make a difference if the U.S. numbers are so-so. A PPV being from Canada doesn't hurt the U.S. numbers. Normally, that would be considered a disappointment, but coming two weeks after a monster show and being the third PPV in four weeks, if that's where it winds up, nobody should complain. I think it's a lot better than Aldo vs. Koch would have done.

Three PPV's in 4 weeks can't be ignored when looking at these numbers either. That's about $150 the UFC was asking their fans to put up, which isn't a possibility for many. So consumers are going to pick the best product, which obviously, was UFC 148 at 1 million buys. I'm never going to complain about too much MMA. However, this stretch of UFC events highlights some big complications with such an active schedule.

148 was sandwiched between two of the lowest selling cards in years.

I must have missed it, how many saw the prelims? Those were worth the watch.

idk but the prelims were a lot better that the main card

OU wrote:

I must have missed it, how many saw the prelims? Those were worth the watch.

The UFC's most recent live broadcast on cable partner FX averaged 1 million viewers leading into a pay-per-view of its debut in Calgary.

This past weekend's UFC 149 preliminary-card broadcast hit that number during the two-hour show, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on Thursday confirmed with industry sources.

That number comes three weeks after setting a new high-water mark with 1.8 million viewers for the UFC 148 prelims that led into a pay-per-view featuring the Anderson Silva-Chael Sonnen rematch.

UFC 149 took place July 21 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. The FX broadcast followed two fights on Facebook and preceded the night's pay-per-view main card.

The prelims broadcast featured a "Fight of the Night" bantamweight bout between Bryan Caraway and Mitch Gagnon, plus a UFC record-tying "Knockout of the Night" debut from Ryan Jimmo, who knocked out Anthony Perosh is just seven seconds.

The UFC and FX have now averaged 1.31 million viewers over eight preliminary-card broadcasts. FX next will broadcast prelims for UFC 150, which takes place Aug. 11 in Denver. The promotion's next card comes Aug. 4 with UFC on FOX 4, which gets a four-fight live broadcast on FOX and a three-hour prelims special on FUEL TV.

The all-time UFC-FX ratings include:

UFC 148 ratings (prelims): 1.8 million viewers
UFC 145 ratings (prelims): 1.6 million
UFC 144 ratings (prelims): 1.5 million
UFC on FX 2 ratings (main card): 1.4 million
UFC 143 ratings (prelims): 1.4 million
UFC on FX 4 ratings (main card): 1.3 million
UFC 146 ratings (prelims): 1.3 million
UFC on FX 1 ratings (main card): 1.3 million
UFC on FX 3 ratings (main card): 1.1 million
UFC 149 ratings (prelims): 1.0 million
TUF Live Finale ratings (main card): 1.0 million
UFC 147 ratings (prelims): 969,000
UFC 142 ratings (prelims): 880,000