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  - IFL RENEWED ON TV, PLEASED WITH PROGRESS
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - by MMAWeekly.com
The International Fight League released a statement today saying that MyNetworkTV has announced their fall lineup and that “IFL Battleground” has been picked up by the fledgling network in its usual Monday night timeslot of 8pm ET/PT, 7pm CT/MT. Battleground will continue to replay on Saturday nights.
While the network has continued to struggle in the ratings and is working feverishly to beef up it’s offerings, IFL Battleground has been the main factor in MyNetworkTV’s increase in the coveted 18-34 year-old male demographic. Prior to Battleground, MyNetworkTV averaged a 0.2 prime time rating in the demographic. Since the emergence of Battleground on the network, that average has increased to 0.7, a marked improvement.
Despite speculation of MyNetworkTV’s possible demise, they appear to be on task to continue into 2008 with the announcement of Battleground as an anchor as they move forward adding more new programming.
The IFL being little more than a year old, commissioner Kurt Otto was happy about the announcement, “We are looking forward to expanding the audience and continuing to improve our content as we move into our first playoff series and then on to our World Grand Prix. FSN and MyNetwork have given us a great platform to showcase our new brand, our world champion coaches and our great athletes to a large audience, and we are very excited about the future.”
Likewise, IFL CEO Gareb Shamus has also been encouraged by their progress in the short amount of time that the IFL has been in existence. “We, along with FSN and MyNetworkTV, remain enthused and encouraged by our audience size and demographic. There have been fluctuations in the ratings, like every single other show on TV (especially those searching for a new audience on a fledgling network).”
Expectant of long-term success, Shamus is also looking to this summer to see what type of progress Battleground can make when the network competition tends to slow down as most hit shows go into hiatus. “We are more interested in how we perform over the full season. Now, when most shows will be in re-runs over the summer, we will continue to air new episodes, starting in mid-June. We are in a very fortunate position to not just have FOX as a broadcaster, but also as a strategic investor and partner, so we are focused on the long-term opportunities we have of working together.”
With FOX behind both MyNetworkTV and the IFL’s programming on Fox Sports Net, Shamus is confident in what they have achieved in little more than a year of running events. “In total, we’ve been aggregating over 2 million viewers a week. Considering the IFL has only been putting on events for less than 13 months and has been able to get MMA on primetime network TV, we remain very encouraged with the response. We will continue to produce a high quality show and make these the best possible weekly shows for both the hard-core fans and those new to the sport."
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