The Los Angeles Times reports that the recent mixed martial arts show with Kimbo Slice scored big in Los Angeles:
The first mixed martial arts event shown in prime time on a major network was a big hit for KCBS-TV Channel 2.The Saturday night tape-delayed Elite Extreme Combat event from Newark, N.J., came in with a local overnight rating of 4.7 and a 9 share. The rating peaked at 7.2 the final 15 minutes.
By comparison, a Stanley Cup final hockey game shown earlier in the evening on KNBC-TV Channel 4 averaged just a 1.3 local rating and a 3 share.
The MMA national overnight rating, which is an average for the nation’s 54 largest markets, was a 2.7 with a 5 share.
The main event for the five-card night featured Kimbo Slice, a former street brawler from Miami whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, against James “The Colossus” Thompson of England. Slice won by technical knockout. The fight was stopped 38 seconds into the third round with a dazed Thompson bleeding from the ear after taking a few explosive punches to the head.
Jared Shaw, vice president of fighter relations for EliteXC, said he was extremely pleased with the overnight viewership numbers in L.A. Three other fights are scheduled to be shown on CBS later this year.
Yes, MMA is going mainstream.