StrikeForce: Carano vs Cyborg Draws 576,000 Viewers

As expected Spike TV's replay of a UFC 100: Lesnar vs Mir 2 pay-per-view event outdrew the live broadcast of StrikeForce: Carano vs Cyborg on Showtime this past weekend.

Spike TV, a basic cable station, is available in 98 million homes. Showtime, a premium cable station, has approximately 15 million paying subscribers.

Strikeforce: Carano vs Cyborg drew an average audience of 576,000 viewers. The UFC replay drew nearly four times that with two million total viewers, Spike TV officials today confirmed with MMA Junkie.

Strikeforce's Aug. 15 event was one of the biggest shows in the promotion's history and featured the long-awaited Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs Gina Carano title fight. As with other competitors, the UFC and Spike TV ultimately decided to counter-program the broadcast.

Strikeforce's event averaged 576,000 viewers (and peaked with 856,000 for the night's main event at midnight). UFC 100: Lesnar vs Mir 2 averaged two million viewers, and it's 1.8 rating (513,000 viewers) was the highest-rated program in the male-18-34 demographic during its timeslot.

Additionally, Spike TV edged Showtime in that demo with 513,000 viewers to the premium channel's 181,000.

UFC 100: Lesnar vs Mir 2 took place July 11 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The milestone event featured one of the most stacked cards in the organization's history with three headline-worthy fights, including the official main event of UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar vs interim title-holder Frank Mir.

The Strikeforce event, which took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., also featured Strikeforce interim lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez's title defense over Mitsuhiro Ishida, Gegard Mousasi defeating light-heavyweight champ Renato "Babalu" Sobral, and Fabricio Werdum easily defeating Mike Kyle.

Source: mmajunkie.com