Last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter pulled a 2.2 household rating, a clear and sharp drop from last week’s record-setting episode featuring Kimbo Slice losing to Roy Nelson. The Nelson/Slice bout drew a 3.7 household rating, making it the single most-watched MMA show in North American history.
Spike TV did not include the household rating in the ratings press release today, instead choosing to focus on the male 18-34 demographic, which scored 1.1 million viewers and handily defeated the MLB playoffs on TBS.
Spike TV provided the household rating to Heavy.com.
Full text of the press release is after the cut:
October 8, 2009, New York, NY – The cast of “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” on Spike TV delivered a ratings knockout punch to the MLB Playoffs last night on TBS.
More young men in the advertiser-coveted demographic of 18-34 watched the fourth episode of the new season of “The Ultimate Fighter” (10:00-11:00pm ET/PT) on Spike TV than any of the three MLB playoff games on TBS.
“THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER”
SPIKE TV 1.1 Million Men 18-34
New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
TBS 948,000 Men 18-34
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St Louis Cardinals
TBS 903,000 Men 18-34
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies TBS
488,000 Men 18-34
For the fourth consecutive week, “The Ultimate Fighter,” was the most watched program in all of television with Men 18-34. Remarkably, the Spike original series is in its 10th season and clearly gaining in popularity. “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” features former UFC light heavyweight champions “Suga” Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as coaches and is the only installment in the show’s history to include only the heavyweight weight class (206+ lbs).
The cast includes a list of notable athletes with impressive and diverse pedigrees including four former NFL players, UFC veterans, a former IFL heavyweight champ, and a highly-publicized former EliteXC fighter, Kimbo Slice, who gained prominence through his non-sanctioned bouts on YouTube.