Fox Sports 1 premiered to approximately 90 million subscriber homes when it launched this past Saturday. Their broadcast of UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen drew an average of 1.7 million viewers in primetime (8-11 p.m. ET), according to Nielsen Media Research Fast National data.
“We must congratulate the UFC for putting together a terrific event for the launch of Fox Sports 1 that fans were obviously very excited to watch,” said Bill Wanger, EVP/Programming & Research for Fox Sports. “The prelims and main events were action-packed, and the production quality and new camera angles gave fans a totally new perspective. Hats off to the UFC and its incredibly loyal fan base for making our first night such a complete success.”
Launch day programming Fox Sport 1 included UFC fights, NASCAR programming, and the debut of Fox Sports Live and a college football preview. ESPN’s president John Skipper, recently told The Hollywood Reporter that he’s not worried about the added competition. “We’ve had the great benefit of being able to be in the 24/7 cable sports television business for 30-plus years before other folks decided it was a good idea, so we are fortunate in having had that head start,”