Sophomore edition of 'UFC Tonight' draws 20,000 FUEL TV viewers

The second episode of the UFC's new weekly news show, "UFC Tonight," averaged 20,000 viewers on the FOX-owned FUEL TV.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) confirmed Tuesday's (Jan. 10's) ratings with an industry source.

The Jan. 3 series debut of "UFC Tonight" scored 39,000 viewers, though UFC and FUEL TV officials caution that the entire cable channel is still a work in progress.

After all, FUEL TV averaged just 15,000 viewers in 2011. However, with the UFC's recent move from Spike TV to FUEL TV, the channel has become the hub for UFC programming. While available in just 25 million homes a few months ago, FUEL TV has used the added visibility of the UFC deal to get into approximately 36 million homes at last count.

For example, a New Year's Day marathon of UFC content resulted in the second most-watched day in FUEL TV history, and ratings for its primetime lineup were up a staggering 493 percent compared to 2011's averages.

"Those numbers will build," UFC president Dana White recently said. "We're going to build that network. ... As far as our fanbase goes and the amount of content we're going to have on FUEL TV, people are going to want it, and people are going to demand it.""

Former WEC broadcaster Todd Harris and UFC fighter Kenny Florian host "UFC Tonight," and journalists Jay Glazer and Ariel Helwani are contributors. UFC Tonight" airs each Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT). If the ratings prove strong, officials have suggested new episodes could air more regularly.

For more on "UFC Tonight," including show highlights, go to fuel.tv/ufctonight.

(Pictured: Todd Harris and Kenny Florian)
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