M-1 Challenge this Friday on Showtime

[Liquidrob]

M-1 Baby!

The Official Website of Showtime Sports

 

[SHOGUN]

M-1 usually puts on good events.

 

[EmpireWF]

​

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAfEwv4O6X0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAfEwv4O6X0[/ame]

Undefeated 12-0 Lightweight
Alexander Sarnavskiy

Remember the name

 

[Liquidrob]

tonight

I say they get 85k viewers

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

tonight

I say they get 85k viewers

I'll say higher.

Challengers does in the 200's, Bellator is cracking 200, I think this can break 100. I think people who watch Challengers would be aware of this, and they can get half of them.

 

[Liquidrob]

I'll say higher.

Challengers does in the 200's, Bellator is cracking 200, I think this can break 100. I think people who watch Challengers would be aware of this, and they can get half of them.

I was first going to say 85-100k, but I didnt want to be called a M-1 shill

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Um...guru?!!??

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Um...guru?!!??

The Titan show is loaded with big names tonight, too.

Zuffa Guru?

 

[EmpireWF]

MMA in a ring. Alexander Sarnavky up first.

 

[EmpireWF]

Pat Miletich loves Dusty Rhodes...if you will lol

Great main event

 

[SHOGUN]

Really good event. It felt good to watch some quality MMA in a ring.

M-1 needs to step up their championship belts. They look cheap.

 

[Liquidrob]

Pretty good fights beside the Norwood snuggie fest

Alexander Sarnavskiy was great, had some TD defense also which is nice

CG's favorite fighter Magomed Sultanakhmedov just laid a brutal beating on that dude, his body was bruised head to toe

Vinny has got it going lately

 

[SHOGUN]

Yeah. Vinny has started to train MMA full-time and it's showing.

 

[SHOGUN]

M-1 Global's first-ever Showtime-broadcast event drew 189,000 viewers to the premium cable channel.

MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com
) today confirmed the figure with industry sources.

Featuring a lightweight title bout between new champion Jose Figueroa and former title holder Artiom Damkovsky, "M-1 Challenge 24: Damkovsky vs. Figueroa" took place Friday, March 25 in Norfolk, Va. The event marked M-1 Global's debut on Showtime.

While demographic data was not immediately available, the figure represents a 0.52 household rating.

"M-1 Challenge 24: Damkovsky vs. Figueroa" draws 189,000 viewers to Showtime | MMAjunkie.com


I think that's a decent starting point for M-1.

 

[SHOGUN]

Vinny on M-1's lack of promotion for the card..

The reason why Showtime/M-1 didn't advertise the show properly, was because some the Russians on the main card didn't have their visas issued until few days before the fight, so they were concerned about promoting a card with names that would possibly not be able to make on the card, and they didn't want to take that risk.

I don't think the numbers were bad at all, specially if you compare to Bellator (which was a little above 150.000 and had much more time to advertise, not count out the fact that Bellator has a bigger name in the US). Showtime only had announced the event on their schedule, but they didn't do one single commercial for it. M-1's only source of media was the internet. I heard that all the visa situation for the Russian guys is taken care of for the rest of the year, so I'm sure there will be a better advertisement from Showtime/M-1 for their next card (july 8th) , so the rates will probably be higher, specially after this first show , which was considered a success by Showtime/M-1 and by the fans, which is even more important.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I figured it would do ok, because it likely drew the SF Challengers crowd, which is a hardcore crowd that would have been aware of this regardless of advertising. I dont think advertising M-1 will help all that much, because they have zero star power. They are going to draw the hardcores who watch Challengers, and the best thing they can do is put on good fights, establish a rep for good fights, and establish some names.