Bellator 149 shattered viewership records for Bellator MMA, averaging 2 million viewers for the entire 3-hour fight card on Friday, February 19 (9:00-12:04am ET/PT), peaking with Kimbo Slice’s three-round brawl with Dada 5000 averaging 2.5 million viewers (11:16pm-11:30pm) and a 2.3 rating with Men 18-34. The main event featuring MMA legends Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock drew 2.4 million viewers (11:54pm-11:57pm).
The final numbers will be available Wednesday that will factor in DVR viewership.
Bellator ratings highlights on Spike include:
- Bellator 149 was #1 ranked telecast of the day with Men 18-34 in all of television (broadcast and cable).
- Spike ranked #1 ranked in all of television with Men 18-34, Men 18-49, Men 25-34, and Men 35-49 in the timeslot (9:00-12:00)
- Bellator 149 was #3 ranked telecast of the day in all of television with Adults 18-49.
- Most watched MMA telecast on Spike in nearly 5 years (3/26/11)
- The Spike/Bellator original special “Benson Henderson: Unrivaled” delivered 818,000 viewers at 12:00am ET/PT
Bellator 149 was a Digital/ Social Media hit as well:
- Bellator 149 drew the most people tweeting and number of tweets in cable TV during primetime on Friday.
- The Bellator 149 livestream drew 124% more views than the previous high (Bellator 138 Kimbo vs. Shamrock).
- Bellator 149 trended on Twitter throughout the telecast.
*The previous viewership record for a Bellator event was 1.6 million for Kimbo Slice-Ken Shamrock last June
