Final UFC on Fox 8 TV Ratings Down in Absolute Numbers, but Wins in Key Demographic Battles

Although the initial fast overnight ratings projections were a little lower, the final UFC on Fox 8 TV ratings edged back up to tie the lowest draw for a UFC on Fox event. The numbers were low, but strong enough to win the key advertising demographics in a difficult summer viewing season.

UFC on Fox 8: Johnson vs. Moraga drew an average audience of 2.384 million viewers, according to MMAWeekly.com’s industry sources. That number virtually ties the event with UFC on Fox 3 and UFC on Fox 4, which each attracted 2.4 million viewers.

The UFC on Fox events tend to trend higher in the winter months, when they reap the benefits of cross-promotion with Fox’s powerful NFL programming. UFC on Fox 8 fell in the middle of summer, always a tough draw, and was headlined by a flyweight title fight. The lighter weight classes have yet to draw the numbers of some of the UFC’s marquee divisions, which tend to be at the heavier end of the spectrum.

The UFC on Fox 8 Prelims, which aired on FX, marked a low point for the prelims since it moved off of Fuel TV to the broader reach of FX, drawing just 904,000 viewers.

While the absolute numbers are down, UFC on Fox 8 was still a hit when stacked up against other summer season programming.

UFC on Fox 8 still outdrew the other major broadcast networks to take top honors on the night in the key advertising demographics of Adults 18-49, Men 18-49, Adults 18-34, and Men 18-34. Winning those demographics is a key victory for the UFC and Fox.

UFC on Fox 8 also helped propel Fox to winning the Men 18-34 demographic with the entire weekend’s highest rated event in the category.

Even though the absolute numbers may not appear as appetizing, when it comes to broadcast television, winning the key demographic battles is an important victory.