Bellator TV Ratings Rebound, Continuing Season Long Roller Coaster Ride

Bellator Fighting Championships, enjoying a consistent television presence for the first time, is still struggling to find a consistent audience on MTV2.

Bellator 42, which took place in Oklahoma on Saturday night, drew an average audience of 199,000, according to MTV officials. That is up about 50 percent from Bellator 41 in the week prior. But therein lies the search for a consistent audience, Bellator 40 topped out at 218,000 viewers.

Bellator’s TV ratings on MTV2 have followed that same yo-yo pattern all season long, topping out in its second week, with Bellator 36 netting 230,000 viewers.

Trying to differentiate itself from the UFC, the industry’s giant, Bellator operates in a tournament format. And while they do tend to assemble a talented pool of fighters, Bellator’s competitors don’t have the star power or the brand recognition of the UFC.

Bellator’s ratings though have been a boost to MTV2’s Saturday night ratings. The promotion’s premier telecast on MTV2 gave the network its best ratings in the key advertiser demographics of Men 18-49 and Men 25-34 in several months.