THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER® ON FX WINS BY WAY OF KNOCKOUT
TUF™ 17 Finale Scores 1.71 Million Total Viewers and 1.16 Million Adults 18-49
Marking Series Highs for FX
FX Was the #1 Network in All of Television Saturday Night in Men 18-34 and #2 in Men 18-49
Finale Was TV’s Most-Watched Show in Men 18-34 in Primetime on Saturday Night
The Ultimate Fighter 17 was FX’s Highest-Rated Season
as TUF Officially Moves to FOX Sports 1 on September 4
LOS ANGELES, April 16, 2013 – The Ultimate Fighter® went out on top, as FX’s last telecast of the series (4/13/2013) scored FX series highs in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, while the entire 17th installment was FX’s highest-rated of the series.
The TUF™ 17 finale, which saw Kelvin Gastelum named “The Ultimate Fighter” with a split decision upset win over heavily favored Uriah Hall, scored 1.71 million Total Viewers and 1.16 Million Adults 18-49, marking series highs for FX. For the night, FX ranked #1 in Men 18-34 outright, beating all broadcast and cable networks, while Men 18-49 was the highest-rated in basic cable and second highest-rated overall, behind only FOX which aired NASCAR.
The finale was the most-watched show in all of television in Men 18-34 in primetime on Saturday night, and second most-watched among M18-49, behind only NASCAR on FOX.
Men 18-49, Adults 18-34, Men 18-34, Adults 25-54, Men 25-54 and Women 25-54 also scored series highs. The 17th season as a whole averaged 1.32 million Total Viewers and 921,000 Adults 18-49, increases of +45% and +41%, respectively, vs. TUF 16.
The Ultimate Fighter will move to FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports’ newly minted multi-sport national cable channel, when it returns in September. The next installment, featuring UFC® women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and challenger Cat Zingano as coaches, also moves to Wednesday evening at 10:00 PM ET. FS1 launches Saturday, Aug. 17 and season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter premieres Wednesday, Sept. 4 (10:00 PM ET).
“This was a great way to end The Ultimate Fighter’s run on FX,” said Chuck Saftler, Executive Vice President, FX Networks. “I want to thank Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta as well as Craig Piligian on three amazing seasons of the series. I wish them all nothing but the best in their move to FOX Sports 1.”
