CBS Earns 3.0/6 Final Nielsen Rating For First MMA Broadcast

CBS Receives Mixed Review For First Foray Into Mixed Martial Arts

MAIN EVENT: In Baltimore, Bill Ordine writes, “I came away from the more than 2 ½ hours of MMA on Saturday ambivalent about how much good the telecast did for the sport in attracting a wider audience.” TV viewers, “particularly those still new to MMA, saw flashes of how compelling the sport can be.” Ordine: “I have a pretty low threshold for boredom, and I stayed with the full card” (Baltimore SUN, 6/3). Syndicated radio host Jim Rome said, "I don't have a problem with CBS being in the MMA business. They've put much worse TV shows on than that. But if they're going to do it, do it with top-notch fighters and quality matchups" ("The Jim Rome Show," 6/2). In San Jose, John Ryan writes, “For its next act, EliteXC can go substance and get a decent headliner, or it can go style and keep the circus act” (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 6/3). However, in Long Beach, Doug Krikorian writes under the header, “A Prime Time Disaster.” Krikorian wrote CBS Founder William S. Paley and Edward R. Murrow must be "aghast at what ignominy the current chairman of the network, Sumner Redstone, has brought to it with a program of unsurpassed repulsiveness” (Long Beach PRESS-TELEGRAM, 6/3). In Richmond, Bob Lipper: "Walter Cronkite must be so proud" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 6/3).

SHADES OF THE XFL? Denver Post columnist Woody Paige said, “This was not any good. The people who know MMA realize it. They turn their heads in shame. This was not a great production. It was like the XFL and after a couple of weeks the ratings will disappear” (“Around the Horn,” ESPN, 6/2). Rome: "That was a freak show. Both the event and the production were amateur. It had an XFL feel to it" ("The Jim Rome Show," 6/2). ESPN’s Dan Le Batard: “The XFL came out huge early and then people bailed. … This was not the best MMA product” (“PTI,” ESPN, 6/2).

Writer Feels Slice Could Possibly Make Venture Into Boxing

BOX OUT: In Miami, Santos Perez writes two recent hints indicate fighter Slice’s “possible venture into boxing.” EliteXC President Gary Shaw has promoted boxers Winky Wright and Antonio Tarver. Slice also accompanied boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa into the ring for Gamboa’s May 17 fight against Darling Jimenez, showcasing Slice in a “boxing environment” (MIAMI HERALD, 6/3).

MORE TO COME: HDNet Fights is partnering with Adrenaline MMA in a multi-fight deal. The first event will air live June 14 at 9:30pm ET on HDNet from the Sears Center in Chicago (THE DAILY).

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