Word: cbs
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...night where Mary Tyler Moore once ruled, CBS is now banking on Kevin Ferguson, a mixed martial arts fighter who goes by the stage name of Kimbo Slice, to draw younger viewers, especially men ages 18 to 34. But in giving such a prime-time spot to mixed martial arts (MMA), the fast-growing, full-combat sport that combines elements of boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, jujitsu and other disciplines, the network is taking a calculated gamble...
...Plenty of people are ticked that these violent, bloody bouts will air on free TV. Even CBS executive chairman Sumner Redstone has said that while the move makes business sense, he doesn't personally like the sport and thinks airing it is not "socially responsible" (but, he says, the network's president and CEO Les Moonves calls the shots). "Sure, people have asked 'are you crazy?' says Kelly Kahl, the network's scheduling guru. "And internally, some people are nervous. But we're juiced for this. CBS may skew older than the other networks, but it doesn't always have...
...While the move is a risk for CBS, it's major milestone for MMA, whose growth has been one of the decade's most stunning sports business success stories. For the first time a live MMA fight will be broadcast on one of the big four networks, an extraordinary feat for a sport that, just 10 or so years ago, was roundly derided as "human cockfighting." At first, the caged bouts were fought in the shadows, since the sport was banned in almost every state (it is now sanctioned in 33). But MMA now draws strong ratings on the cable...
...Even with Slice's compelling (dare we say inspirational) life story, MMA won't be a simple sell for CBS. The network needs to balance the expectations of rabid fans with those of new casual viewers, who will have to be spoon-fed MMA 101. "The challenge is that we have to serve two audiences," says Kahl. "We don't want to talk down to the hard-core fans, but we also can't alienate first-time viewers." Also, the network isn't exactly offering the sport prime real estate on the schedule, though CBS insists this is the best...
...What's more, by exposing MMA to kids who are channel surfing, the network, and advertisers like Burger King and Miller, are risking a backlash. "Anyone who thinks CBS will not come out of this with some kind of black eye is fooling themselves," says Marc Ganis, president of SportCorp, a consulting firm. "Just wait for the first news report about two eight-year-olds that went after each other because of something they watched on CBS. It's going to happen." Kahl scoffs at such fears. "I find that statements like this come from ignorance, from a snapshot...