CBS delivered a major boost to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) television reach over the weekend, helping the promotion secure its strongest linear television audience in a decade.
According to reporting by The Sports Business Journal, the broadcast network simulcast portions of UFC 326 on Saturday night, introducing the promotion to CBS viewers for the first time while partnering with Paramount+ for the complete event.
The arrangement resulted in more than 2.47 million viewers watching the fights on CBS, marking the largest audience the UFC has generated on traditional television in the last 10 years.
CBS carried select bouts from both the preliminary card and the main event portion of the pay-per-view broadcast during a two-hour window from 8–10 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, Paramount+ streamed the entire event live.
Viewership numbers for the streaming platform have not been released.
The UFC’s performance also provided a notable ratings lift for CBS in a time slot that has produced modest results throughout the television season. The network’s Saturday night broadcast delivered an audience roughly 30% higher than the average CBS has drawn in that same 8–10 p.m. window since the fall.
Younger viewers also showed strong interest in the event. The broadcast improved CBS’ typical Saturday prime-time performance by 208% among adults ages 18–34 while delivering a 190% increase among adults 18–49 compared to the network’s usual programming in that slot.
Last year, UFC programming airing across ESPN’s family of networks averaged approximately 661,000 viewers on linear television. The CBS audience therefore represented a roughly 284% increase compared to that season average.
The strongest viewership came during the later portion of the simulcast. From 9–10 p.m. ET, when CBS aired part of the main card, the network averaged 2.81 million viewers. The broadcast ultimately reached a peak audience of 3.21 million viewers during the telecast.
UFC and Paramount signed an exclusive seven-year agreement to carry UFC’s full slate of events — ending the mixed martial arts organization’s long-standing Pay-Per-View model in the United States.
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