CBS 'EliteXC' fight ratings KO'd by overtime

CBS launched its mixed martial arts franchise Saturday night with a fight that delivered decent ratings, yet likely taught the network some lessons for staging future events.

The nearly three-hour telecast ran 45 minutes past 11 p.m., pushing the much-anticipated headliner bout between Kimbo Slice (pictured, Getty Images photo) and James Thompson outside of primetime hours. As a result, CBS placed second for the night in the adults 18-to-49 demo -- coming in a tenth of a point behind NBC’s airing of the Stanley Cup Finals, which in turn tied Fox’s presentation of movie “The Rookie” for first place.

CBS opened the night with a “CSI” repeat (4.5 million viewers, 0.9 adults 18 to 49 rating and a 4 share), followed by its “EliteXC Saturday Night Fights Special” (4.3 million viewers, 1.9/6). "EliteXC" won its time periods. But according to the metered market overnights,the fight's viewership significantly spiked during overtime (full program ratings will not be known until the national numbers are released Tuesday).

The overrun not only hampered what could have a CBS full-night ratings victory, but also frustrated some viewers. CBS wanted to introduce its broadcast audience to ultimate fighting by featuring plenty of player profiles and interviews, yet the result seemed to annoy MMA purists.

“The broadcast dragged on interminably,” wrote Yahoo Sports. “There was more chatting than ‘The Tonight Show’ …when it was 70 minutes into the show, there had been just 2:12 of fighting.”

CBS noted the primetime portion of the telecast nonetheless increased the network’s time-period average in the demo by 36% compared to the past season. And with CBS’ next “EliteXC” bout scheduled for July, the network still has plenty of time to work on tightening its production.

“There’s a bit of a learning curve here, but I think we had a terrific start,” said Kelly Kahl, head of scheduling for CBS. “We had three goals: Improve our Saturday night demos, get some new advertisers and expand viewership of the sport -- and we did all three.”

CBS is trying to get foothold on low-rated Saturday nights and bring in young male viewers who do not typically watch the network. CBS had staffers phone about 500 sports bars last week to spread the news about the “EliteXC” event.

UPDATE: FINAL NUMBERS

Here's a clip from the third and final round of the headliner event:

Also: Fans gave high marks to this match between Kaitlin Young and Gina Carano:

Comments

[Ithica]

I knew CBS could find a way to make ultimate fighting boring!

[charliemccarthy]

The pre-mature stoppages had "No blood on network TV" written all over them. No real blood that is. Fake autopsies on crime dramas are fine but actual blood is a big no no.

[David]

I dont ever want to see an MMA event from New Jersey again. The stoppages were horrible on another level.

James Thompson really was robbed. I liked Kimbo before the fight, but he tapped out in the first round, which the ref overlooked, and was pinned down while getting hit in the face for what seemed like forever without being able to defend himself, and the fight was allowed to go on. Thompson was stopped and recieved a TKO innapropriately, and popped the ref in the face after the fight. It was the worst call in mixed martial arts i have ever seen. Maybe out of all sports i have ever seen. Thanks for hurting the sport CBS. Kimbo was being boo'ed after the fight. What sucks the most is how people are saying he pounded Thompson. It was a joke.

[Jennifer C]

CBS did a good job of trying to put on a show. Sadly they were hampered by bad refs, premature stoppages and overly boring chat. CBS, I hope, learned that filling time isn't a matter of talking but rather of showing action. Take a hint; while fighter profiles are nice, we'd rather see fights. It seems that CBS took it's cue from the UFC's latest P4V broadcasts which involve more profiling than a serial killer investigation and about as much action as a dance recital (same predictable outcomes too). Toss the dancers too they were awful and out of sync.

[Sam]

Elite XC couldn't have their poster boy lose on primetime. Slice was knocked out in the second round and it should have been stopped. Elite XC is a joke its not MMA I hope the people who watched also watched WEC sunday night, that's what MMA is about real fighters not internet freak show bums.

[Sam]

Elite XC couldn't have their poster boy lose on primetime. Slice was knocked out in the second round and it should have been stopped. Elite XC is a joke its not MMA I hope the people who watched also watched WEC sunday night, that's what MMA is about real fighters not internet freak show bums.

[Bill G]

No Thanks...I'll stick with UFC and HDNet Fights. They ALLOW the fighters to FIGHT! The stoppages were unbelievable! I figured that a major network would wuss out and find a way to water down MMA...and CBS did.

[Ed]

I liked the entire 3 hours and stayed up past my usual bedtime to watch the Kimbo fight. Thanks for promoting a good showtime and keep up the good work.

[AC]

I had to chuckle every time I heard a fighter was booted from the UFC. The strutting in amongst the fireworks was overdone.

At first the stoppage on the Kimbo fight made me angry, but on the replay I saw James take 4 hits and was not putting up much of a defense. So after the blood simmered down, I can see better to error on the side of caution.

I don't want any of the fighters permanently hurt.

[Brian lemons]

Kimbo almost lost that fight for real, he pulled it out but man he needs some endurence, and some more submission training if he ever want to really make it in MMA. The other fights was ok the girls really had a nice battle, but the long ass wait for the last match was torture and tire some.

[Matt]

The real reason that the ratings were low is that millions of viewers across the country were not able to see the fight because it was not shown by several CBS affiliates.

[Ron Shaffer]

Just what was that, some form of MMA and WWE? Now I see why the UFC didn't sign up with CBS, the production was just bad. But the one thing that should of been good was also bad, the fights. Kimmybo Slice doesn't belong as the headliner of the event, besides he couldn't beat 3/4 the heavyweights out there. If you wanted to watch great MMA fighting this weekend you should of watch real MMA on Verus Sunday night.

[Michele]

I thought that it was GREAT!!! i cant wait til june 10th to see the next fight... CBS definelty helped me to become a MMA fan!!

How about those ladies at least there was something worth watching

[Bilbo Smith]

Hold the MMA events in Vegas or California; they both know the right way to put on these events. NJ is a has-been fight town, barely fit for "boxing", let alone something exciting like MMA...or maybe it was the network's heavy-handed production efforts?

VS (Versus) does WEC much better, and seems to have a better card. The Faber/Pulver fight on Sunday was much better than anything I saw on Elete XC/CBS on Saturday.

[David]

The doctor that stopped the fights should never be invited back to a full contact event. Maybe she should stick to ballet. It looked like Elite/CBS was trying to protect Kimbo.

[Eric Brandt]

Worst mma event I've ever seen! Bad fights(all except the girls), has beens (Baroni), bad stoppages (Lawler, Smith) and street thugs (Kimbo). Go away EliteXC, the fighter intros and dancing girls are ridiculous.

[Yukon_1449]

Those dancing girls were the worst. Nothing turns an event into a white trash bonanza faster then skanky dancing girls. CBS, this was over produced and full of fluff. Next time, cut the girls, cut the talk, and let these guys do what they do. A little blood will be ok. These guys know what they signed up for, as do the viewers who watch.

[tWm]

I love how at the end thompson took a shot at the REF...he deserved it, for stoping the round so fast. What a JOKE! The guy was finally starting to get fired up.

[Case Enoch]

This was my first exposure to MMA. I enjoyed the action - when there was some. I'm sure there will be some tweaking, but unless there's a LOT of tweaking so there's more ring time, I'll be back to movies if I'm in front of the TV on Saturday nights. At least the fights don't appear to be staged.

[Michael]

Highlights
1. The girl fight was the best.
2. Lawler vs Smith fight
3. Kimbo showed some signs MMA, but gassed out waaay to early.
4. Popping Thompson's ear.

Low lights
1. The Commentating (ugh...I couldn't take it!)
2. What the f' was taking so long to set up the next fight?
3. Ring enterances.
4. Early fight stoppage.

[Tom]

MMA? More like WWE with their predetermined winners and an attached side show/circus.

- The first few fights were ok, but the early stoppages were ridculous.

- The ref (big bakd goof with goatee) was a joke and doesn't deserve to be in the ring, especially on TV.

- The announcers were so irritating I could barely concentrate on the fight. Who hired these clowns anyway?

- Also...you have a bonafide (former) UFC champion fighting on the under card of a hyped up backyard street fighter? WTF is that? Robbie Lawler has either lost his mind or caved to the money in order to swallow his pride and fight on the under card of Kimbo...what a joke! And then to have his fight stopped early...hell it was just getting good.

- And finally...Kimbo Slice...aka JOKE! I've give hime credit for his power, but we all know he was smoothed talked by the Elite guys. They wanted him for their opening show thinking it would put their name on the map...after that chaos of a show I am asking myself ...Elite what??

I love MMA and watch every show that comes on TV...but I can promise you and anyone reading this...I will never watch an Elite?? MMA circus again. They have put a black eye and turned it back into a spectacle rather than promoting the actual sport.

Do us a favor Elite...take your out of shape star (Kimbo) and follow UFC's lead. Try to actually make it entertaining as a sport and leave out the theatrics, loud mouthed announcers, and dancing girls. If you can't do that...then just don't put anymore spectacles on prime time. Your opening show my friend, was an embarrasment and a disgrace!

[jason carthon]

I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYBODY SAY CBS MADE ME A TRUTH FAN OF MMA FIGHTING. KIMBO SLICE WAS THE MAN OF THE HOUR, TO FIGHT A GUY 20 POUNDS HEAVIER THAN HIM AN STILL GIVE A GREAT SHOW WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR. I WOULD TO SEE KIMBO VS BRETT ROGERS SINCE HE HAVE SO MUCH DISBELEIVE IN KIMBO'S GAME. I THINK IF ROGERS WERE TO STAND UP AN FIGHT KIMBO BLOW FOR BLOW WE WOULD SEE WHO'S THE BADDEST.

KIMBO FAN 4 LIFE

[Shawn]

Cut out the long boring intros, the bad dancing, the boring announcers, the horrible stopages and insert some fighting; then you might have a good MMA show!!!

[eg]

The stoppages were aweful, many of the other fights were good. And yes the Jersey crowd was totally uneducated in the MMA game.

[Gus]

I thought the fight was just fine.... cbs has some knots to untie but i think the elite xc has found a home. everyone i know was watching the fight and the bar was full of non mma fans that became interested and were asking questions. As for the pre mature stoppage i thought thompson was almost done in the second round when his eyes were rolling back in his head and he wasn't going down, he could've let the fight go a little longer but i dont fault the ref for stopping it. As for kimbo, even though hes a very good striker with power he needs to be looking for other combos using knees, elbows, etc. Neither one of them was in very good shape especially after watching Faber vs Pulzer on WEC go 5 - 5min rounds sunday night, that was impressive.

[Darrell]

It was no where near the excitement of UFC or WEC. They need to watch these organizations to get an idea of what MMA is all about. The rappers at the beginning and yea the dancers looked good but really not necessary. If this is going to be a regular event on Saturday nights then hopefully it will get better. The losers of the first two matches should not be allowed to fight again they sucked it up.

[brad]

Not bad for the first attempt. I don't know if everyone else is rich beyond belief....but I enjoyed not having to pay 50 dollars to watch some MMA action.

[Brian]

If I wanted to watch WWE I would. All this showboating, fireworks, dancing and long-winded commentation should stay with WWE. I don't watch MMA for glitz and glamor.

I've been watching UFC for a few years and just yesterday my neighbor informed me about WEC which is related to UFC and is shown on the channel Versus.

[David]

This was more like WWE with there intros than the normal MMA programs I watch. The only thing I really enjoyed watching was the ladies fight it was the most exciting fight of the night. The early stoppages was a joke especially the one for the belt which by the way should of been the main event and not being the main event was a slap in face for the fighters. Kimbo was protected in this fight is why it was not stopped in the 2nd round. The rappers and the dancers needs to be gone, nothing exciting about listening to something you can not understand and watching hot chicks that can't dance. I don't see EliteXC being one of the top MMA programs until they get better fighters and stop all of the nonsense I saw Saturday night. Big John is no longer with UFC you may want to pay this man what he wants and bring him into Elite he will bring fans by himself and yea hes just the referee. If they continue to stop fights and protect there main investment (Kimbo) then they will fold quickly. Dana White is very arrogant but at least the fighters have to win on there own and they are not protected. I guess the most confusing thing to me is people paying money for a PPV event of a staged event (WWE). I understand the kids but never in my life will I understand grown men and women into this program.

[rob]

go watch UFC 1 if you want to see bad production. I think the early stoppages robbed the fighters more than anything. Thompson was done. I think scott smith was done too. One rule of thumb in boxing/mma if the ref or doctor ask you how you are. your fine. never lead on that your hurt and they can't stop it. Scott smith made a mental error.

I am not sure if they just didn't want blood or what. once someone took any damage they just seemed to stop it. Let the corners throw in the towl if the damage is getting to bad.

[Whocares]

If FOX, NBC or ABC would sign UFC then EliteXC would be history. These are 2nd rate fighters that cannot compete in the UFC and thats why they are with Elite. That was a joke Saturday night except the ladies. The early stoppages, protecting Kimbo and a title match not being the main event which was stopped anyway and was heating up to be the best match of the night no thanks Ill watch UFC and WEC and yes I buy every PPV UFC puts on.

[John]

How could the announcer possibly put Kimbo Slice in the same category as Oscar DeLehoya or Tiger Woods. What an idiot. Kimbo Slice as a headliner? People may enjoy watching him beat people up on the internet, but he was exposed Sat. A real Headliner MMA fighter would have destroyed him. He has been spoon feed up to this point, and he should have been the loser in this fight if the ref hadn't been instructed to not let him loose. The same promoters that killed boxing obviously have their greasy hands in this also. Fighters overweight, out of shape, and poor skill levels do not make a sucessful event. Get real or don't come at all.

[Chris]

Not a bad first outing for EliteXC and CBS. I thought the Lawler fight was the fight of the night.

Now don't get me wrong, I love EliteXC and I understand that CBS and EliteXC were trying to educate the casual fan. But the production of the EliteXC show was campy with Busta Rhymes coming out (does anyone care about him anymore???) and I am not a big fan of the pyro and dancers (Can you say WCW Nitro, a now defunct wrestling promotion). I understand that this is an EliteXC staple at their shows, but when my father-in-law is saying that they are delving into wrestling territory, that is not what you want your casual fan comparing it to.

MMA has a tough enough time trying to break stigmas attached to it already.

Say what you want about UFC and Dana White, but a UFC show stands on it's own, with interviews, and hype build up. I want to buy a UFC show, I would not want to buy an EliteXC show. UFC are the bar that everyone else has to meet.

To say I was disappointed with the crowd in Jersey would be an understatment.

They were booing during the Lawler Fight, Unbeliveable. It looks like those fans booing had no idea what they were watching. If this event was held in Vegas or California (or even in Slices hometown of Miami) it would have come across way better for the casual fans watching, as the excitement level would have been off the charts.

Was it just me or did it look like Slice was "suppose" to win??

Slice will be good in the future, but right now if he was to face a real heavyweight (Sylvia, Mir, Couture) Kimbo Slice would be back fighting on the Internet. Grooming a fighter so he can win and be the face of your franchise is NOT competition, it's trying to get the results that you want!!!! And again, you are flirting with wrestling, THAT'S BAD!!!!

Again, hand it to the UFC for putting Lesnar in with Mir. He had one fight under his belt and the UFC wasn't scared of putting him in there against a fighter of Mir's stature. He lost, but it was a hell of a fight and exciting.

[David L]

the best fight was the middle weight championship match n they stopped it they didnt gave the challenger his 5 min rule is if u get poked in the eye or hit on the groin u give fighter at least 5 min,n the kimbo fight to me he lost on the second round 1st he did tapped n they called it a signal 2 the referre that he was ok,sorry that was a tap n later on the second round he was gettin pounded on the ground for 30 seconds he was trapped on da ground against the cage gettin elbows n punches to the face n head n he just layed there without trying to fight back that was another call the referre didnt count he just let the time to run out im sorry but in mma even if u still alert but you r in the ground gettin pounded n u aint defending yourself or tryin to fight back just laying there gettin hit is ruled a tech ko n after the bell he was still on the ground catching his breath he should stop fighting n train for at least a year before gettin back in that ring cuase if not he`s gonna end up gettin hurt bad

[Just a thought]

Hey CBS/Elite heres a thought Kimbo vs Fedor Emelianenko.

[dylan]

Damn That must of hurt like a mother.JESUS.

[BigSingh]

I, for one, didn't have a problem with the EliteXC fights on CBS since Sacramento has an early prime -it starts at 7pm-. The girls fight was the best out of all of them. I have seen PPVs where the ref stopped the fight because a fighter couldn't respond when asked questions i.e. are you okay?, what day is this?, etc.

The fights, I felt, weren't stopped too early except for the fight before Kimbo/Thompson. But the problem is not the fights. It's the overdoing the profiles, the dancing girls, the WWE-like entrances and at times, the commentary. Though I agree VS did do a better job with its coverage, VS has been at the game longer than CBS. Because all the fights were stopped because people got dropped. CBS should take a cue from USA's TUESDAY NIGHT FIGHTS or even BOXEO TECATE on Azteca America: have back up fights ready just to keep the action going. Other than that, it's not a bad first attempt.

[Faith]

The pitfall of the Kimbo Slice fight was that they clearly counted on him hitting Thompson in the cauliflower ear and stopping the fight earlier. Sadly, the match made Slice look exactly like what he is: an old guy who beats up on losers and has beens on YouTube. He has no real skill, and he's too old and too slow to amount to anything in MMA. Elite XC is pathetic.