|
|
Friday, March 6, 2009
UFC "Primetime" Plans Depend on Jardine/Jackson
 The UFC's Spike TV special, "UFC Primetime," helped propel UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn 2 into one of the most successful cards in the promotion's history. The series averaged just over three quarters of a million viewers over the course of three episodes, costing a reported 1.7 million to produce. The live gate, just shy of $4.3 million, made its mark as the fifth highest box office in Nevada's MMA history.
At the post-fight press conference for 94, White said he enjoyed the experience and would do it again, up to three times a year.
With one of the specials in the can, reporters at the pre-fight press conference for UFC 96 asked White if Lesnar vs. Mir 2 would get the "Primetime" treatment. The first meeting of Goliaths did a live gate of approximately $2.4 million, and drew a reported 650,000 pay per view buys.
The answer was maybe, maybe not.
"It's going to depend," said White. "I've got to see what's going to happen this weekend."
White seemed more keen on a scenario where Quinton "Rampage" Jackson emerge victorious this weekend.
"If this weekend it ends up being Rampage and Rashad, I'll probably do primetime on that fight."
But first, Jackson needs to get through Jardine, and as White said earlier, that's not an easy task.
(Watch the UFC 96 pre-fight press conference.)Labels: Keith Jardine, Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, UFC Primetime
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 10:30 AM
Thursday, January 29, 2009
UFC Primetime Episode 3 (Pt 2)
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 7:08 PM
UFC Primetime Episode 3 (Pt 1)
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 7:07 PM
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
UFC Primetime GSP vs. B.J. Penn Final Episode Tonight, Ratings Solid
 The third and final installment of the new UFC Primetime -- Georges St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn 2 -- episode airs tonight on Spike TV at 10 p.m. ET/PT. If you missed it so far, the series gives fans an inside look at the lives and training of St. Pierre and Penn as they ready themselves for their UFC 94 mega-fight Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The series launched two weeks ago to what Spike officials felt were very good ratings. Each episode airs twice on Spike back-to-back. The first episode debuted to an average of 880,000 viewers during its first airing, followed by a repeat performance that averaged 614,000 viewers, according to Spike TV.
Last weeks episode -- the second installment in the series -- stayed steady on its initial airing with an average viewership of 825,000, while the repeat immediately afterwards drew 435,000.
It will be interesting to see how many fans tune in tonight as excitement for the fight has started to build across the board.Labels: B.J. Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Spike TV, UFC 94, UFC Primetime
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 11:02 AM
Saturday, January 24, 2009
UFC Primetime GSP vs. B.J. Penn (Episode 2)
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 2:44 PM
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
UPDATE: B.J. Penn Shuts Down Filming Prior to Tonight's UFC Primetime
The second installment of UFC Primetime -- featuring a behind the scenes look at Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn leading up to their mega-fight next week at UFC 94 -- airs tonight on Spike TV, although not without a little more controversy than might have been planned.
During recent taping for the "up to the minute" series, Penn apparently became disenchanted with the way he was being portrayed on the show, according to a report on MMAJunkie.com, and cut off filming in the middle of an interview segment, denying further access to his gym.
(UPDATE) MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday spoke with Penn's press representatives who did confirm the report with J.D. Penn, the fighter's brother/manager. J.D. verified that it is true that B.J. was unhappy with his portrayal on Primetime and cut off access to himself and his gym. Neither J.D. nor B.J. would comment any further, other than verifying the fallout.
The ratings for the first episode -- which is scheduled to air on three consecutive Wednesdays on Spike TV -- drew an average of 880,000 viewers for the initial airing and followed with 690,000 viewers in its repeat performance.
The rift with Penn may be another headache for UFC President Dana White to deal with, but Spike TV officials have to be salivating with the added drama to the fiery relationship between White and Penn, which is likely to drive further interest in the new series.Labels: B.J. Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Spike TV, UFC Primetime
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 1:39 PM
Saturday, January 17, 2009
UFC Primetime GSP vs. BJ Penn (Episode 1 - Pt 2)
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 4:52 PM
UFC Primetime GSP vs. B.J. Penn (Episode 1 - Part 1)
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 11:57 AM
Monday, January 12, 2009
UFC Primetime Kicks Off Wednesday Night on Spike TV
UFC Primetime premieres on Spike TV on Wednesday, January 14th at 10pm. More than just a countdown show, the series will air in three parts on the three Wednesdays leading up to the fight and take fight fans behind the scenes and into the lives of Georges St-Pierre and B.J. Penn like never before. For the UFC, there was no better time than now and no better fight than GSP-Penn to kick off the series. GSP vs. Penn takes place on Jan. 31 at UFC 94 in Las Vegas.
Labels: B.J. Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Spike TV, UFC 94, UFC Primetime
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 1:16 PM
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Spike TV Gets in on GSP-BJ Penn 2 with UFC Primetime
 In anticipation of one of the most prominent mixed martial events of all-time, "UFC 94" featuring welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and lightweight champion BJ Penn, Spike TV presents "UFC Primetime," premiering Wednesday, January 14 10:30 - 11:00pm, ET/PT.
"UFC Primetime," produced by the UFC, delivers an unprecedented portrait of the lives of two of mixed martial arts' biggest stars, Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn, as they prepare for their epic clash of titans in late January. Spike TV will present three special weekly installments that will take viewers from the cliffs of Kailua to the streets of Montreal in an unfiltered look at two great warriors heading into battle for what promises to be one of the greatest match ups of skill in UFC history.
Christopher Martello of Spike TV serves as executive in charge of production of "UFC Primetime."
"UFC 94" will air live on Pay-Per-View Saturday, January 31 from MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas at 10pm ET/7pm PT.Labels: BJ Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Spike TV, UFC 94, UFC Primetime
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 7:05 PM
Copyright 2009 MMA Weekly LLC. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of MMA Weekly content is expressly prohibited without expressed written consent of MMA Weekly. MMA Weekly will not be liable for any errors in content or any action taken in reliance thereof.
|
|
|
|
MMA Insider Blog RSS Feed
