Bellator 170 Posts Near-Record TV Ratings

Got this press release today in my inbox:

1.85 MILLION VIEWERS TUNE IN FOR TITO ORTIZ – CHAEL SONNEN MAIN EVENT ON SPIKE TV

New York, NY, January 24, 2017 – 1.85 million viewers tuned in for the final fight in Tito Ortiz’s storied career, a first round submission victory over Chael Sonnen. This marks the most watched Bellator fight on Spike since last February and the most watched MMA fight on television in 2017.
 
*these are preliminary numbers as the more accurate viewership total factoring in DVR +3 will be released Thursday.
 
In the co-feature, 1.7 million viewers witnessed Paul Daley’s devastating flying knee KO over Brennan Ward.
 
Overall, Bellator 170 delivered 1.4 million viewers – making it the 3rd most watched card in the franchise’s history. The 3-hour Spike telecast was also ranked #1 in cable with Men 18-49 in the timeslot.

Bellator 170 was also a digital and social success as well.

• The Bellator 170 prelims drew the second most viewers on comand Bellator mobile app in franchise history (only behind Bellator 149).
• The post-fight press conference streamed exclusively on YouTube saw the most concurrent viewers in Bellator history.
• #Bellator170 was the #1 trending topic on Twitter during the event and Tito Ortiz, Chael Sonnen and Bellator MMA trended #1 on Google Trends.