Will a Documentary Steal MMA Viewership?

There’s still not a lot going on in the world of MMA news these days, unfortunately. While UFC 84, scheduled for May 24th, is looming, many people are also looking forward to see the first glimpse of MMA action during prime time television only a week later thanks to the partnership of EliteXC and CBS. It’s not like EliteXC just paired up with some junk television station – CBS has been a roll lately by racking up the highest number of viewers for the second straight week while maintaining a solid second place standing for the entire season just behind Fox. Ten of the top 20 shows on television these days are on CBS and the viewership will be there regardless of what else is on television at the time. And now thanks to the UFC and Spike TV, you can also watch “Ultimate Iceman: Chuck Liddell” on May 31st as well.

So why did the UFC decide to air a show opposite of live MMA action? If you go out and ask anyone on the street who Chuck Liddell is, you’ll get a pretty decent response. Ask those same people if they like watching live sports and your reaction might be even better. Ask people on the street if they enjoy documentaries and, well, your response might not be so positive. So what makes those running the UFC show think that people will stop watching EliteXC’s live Saturday Night Fights on CBS to learn about the life of an injured former light-heavyweight champion on Spike TV?

If anything, trying to go head to head with live action fights by using a documentary will only provide backup commercial-break material for MMA fans watching Saturday Night Fights. Will those viewers learn anything about Liddell in the few minutes between fights? Probably not. And I’m sure the whole point is to just grab viewers to learn about the UFC, MMA, and fighters, but I definitely don’t see a documentary doing any damage to EliteXC. As a fan, I’ll record the one-hour Liddell documentary and watch the live fights. I doubt anyone will be coming over at 9PM to learn about the Iceman and his rise to fame. Instead, the party will arrive when the fights begin and the bell rings.

A better solution, one that will never occur, is to set the Liddell documentary to begin either before or after the fighting action. If anything, it could provide an interesting lead into the fights or something to watch after the fights end. But head to head, the fights win.

It doesn’t end there, however. You can also watch Liddell and Wanderlei Silva go at it during UFC 79 for the first time on cable television at 10PM EST in the UFC’s second attempt to go head to head with Saturday Night Fights. Considering that Zuffa makes every attempt to keep their fights off of the internet, they may grab some viewers if Saturday Night Fights doesn’t meet the expectations of the viewers. But then you still have the people with TiVo’s and DVR’s who simply won’t sacrifice live footage for old news. Head to head, live fights are almost always better than their taped counterpart. Although the fight between Silva and Liddell went the distance, it lacked a climatic ending and may disappoint some. I’d suggest sticking to EliteXC’s broadcast to determine if Saturday Night Fights is something that will be be a consistent part of our Saturday nights.

It’s apparent the UFC isn’t gonig anywhere anytime soon.