Last weekend’s UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz pay-per-view card set multiple viewership records for FOX Sports. The shoulder programming surrounding the PPV was a big boost for the network as fans tuned in to see the drama surrounding Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz and watch the prelims.
The FOX Sports 1 UFC 196 prefight show aired Saturday evening from 6:48 p.m. ET — 8 p.m. ET and brought in 767,000 viewers making it the most-watched prefight show in the channel’s history.
The weigh-in show for UFC 196 aired live on FOX Sports 2 on Friday, March 4 at 7 p.m. ET and delivered 145,000 viewers. The replay aired at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and pulled in 358,000 viewers. It was the most-watched UFC weigh-in show in network history.
On Saturday night, March 5, FOX Sports 1 ranked No. 1 among all cable and broadcast networks in the A18-49 demo from 8 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET and peaked with 2,082,000 viewers between 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET
Here are the complete FOX Sports viewership stats for UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz:
– The FS1 UFC 196 PREFIGHT SHOW on Saturday evening (6:48 PM ET – 8:00 PM ET) scored 767,000 viewers, according to Nielsen, making it the most-viewed prefight show in FS1 history, besting the network’s UFC 181 PREFIGHT SHOW on Dec. 6, 2014 for Hendricks vs. Lawler II (606,000).
– The UFC 196 WEIGH-IN SHOW set high marks on both FS1 and FS2, with the replay on FS1 at 10:00 PM ET on Friday, March 4 pulling in 358,000 viewers, making it the most-watched ever WEIGH-IN SHOW, besting the UFC 194: ALDO VS. MCGREGOR WEIGH-INS live on Dec. 11, 2015 (294,000). The live airing on FS2 at 7:00 PM ET delivered 145,000 viewers, making it the most-watched weigh-in in the net’s history.
– A replay of UFC COUNTDOWN Friday on FS1 delivered a show-record 320,000 viewers. The previous high mark was on Jan. 31, 2015 for UFC COUNTDOWN: UFC 183: SILVA VS. DIAZ with 279,000 viewers.
– The FS1 UFC 196 PRELIMS delivered FS1 its second most-watched Pay-Per-View PRELIMS ever with 1,843,000 viewers, slightly behind UFC 194 PRELIMS (1,931,000). Among Adults 18-49, the FS1 UFC 196 PRELIMS is the most-watched PPV Prelim card in FS1 history with 1,074,000 viewers.
– On Saturday night, FS1 was No. 1 among all cable and broadcast networks in the A18-49 demo from 8:00 PM ET to 10:00 PM ET, peaking with 2,082,000 viewers between 9:30-9:45pm ET.
– FS1’s UFC 196 POSTFIGHT SHOW delivered 377,000 viewers to beat UFC 194 POSTFIGHT SHOW for Aldo vs. McGregor (344,000 viewers), and is the fifth-most watched POSTFIGHT SHOW to date on the network.
– Digitally, UFC 196-related videos delivered 60 million total views across FOX Sports digital platforms, up +120% compared to UFC 194 (27M).
– FOX UFC Insider Ariel Helwani’s one-on-one interview with Conor McGregor following McGregor’s loss, garnered 14.8 million views making it the best performing video for FOX’s UFC Facebook page to date.