600k watch as UFC Dublin becomes most watched sporting event on 3e

Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night Dublin has punched above its weight to become the highest rating sporting event on 3e.

Coverage of the MMA showdown reached 600,000 viewers in total and recorded a peak audience figure of 340,200. An impressive average of 257,500 viewers (and 21% share of the available audience) tuned in to 3e on Saturday night to watch Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor put on a spectacular performance to defeat Brazil’s Diago Brandao in his hometown of Dublin, making it the highest rating sporting event in the channel’s history.

The sold-out event at Dublin’s O2 arena, which also featured fellow UFC names Gunnar Nelson and Norman Parke, delivered massive share figures for a number of demographics, including a 36.69% share for Men 15-34 and an even more impressive 43.33% share for Adults 15-24.

In a further coup for the station, 3e’s strong Saturday schedule, which included movies X Men 2, First Blood and a UFC Countdown special, saw the channel post the biggest ever share in its history. 3e posted an all-day share of 10.15% for Adults 15-44 on Saturday 19th July, making it the highest figure of any station for the day.

Jeff Ford, TV3 Group Director of Content, said: “Saturday night’s fantastic UFC ratings prove that there is a real hunger for MMA in Ireland, in particular Ireland’s own star attraction and showman Conor McGregor. 3e was the first broadcaster to take the plunge and broadcast UFC Live and Free to Air and the feedback from our viewers has been great.  We would like to thank our friends and colleagues from the Ultimate Fighting Championship for their support and help and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them in the future.”

Garry Cook, VP and GM UFC EMEA said: “This was a night that will go down in history within the UFC for the record sell out and viewership figures. The collaboration between UFC and TV3, not just on the night, but in the weeks and days leading to the event has shown how an integrated partnership can benefit both organisations. Throughout the week, TV3 and 3e aired amazing content and were able to access the athletes across a number of platforms, building anticipation and ultimately driving the record breaking audience. We would like to congratulate our friends at TV3 and we look forward to bringing more UFC events in the future.”

3e is the fourth biggest Irish TV channel, behind RTE1, TV3 and RTE2. It has a strong presence on Irish televisions and has established itself as the number one channel in the country outside of the traditional terrestrials, with a bigger share of viewing than Sky1, E4, Sky Living and 200+ other digital channels. The TV3 sister channel has a monthly reach of 3,004,700.

TV3 Group earlier this month launched a new 3e website to help further enhance the channel’s brand. All of the latest 3e info can be found on www.3etv.ie.

UFC Fight Night Dublin: McGregor v Brandao can still be viewed on 3player. Coverage of the fight will be available until Saturday 26th July.

Source: TV3 Press Release