Bellator 97 Sees Significant TV Ratings Increase Over First Summer Series Event

Like most summer television programming, Bellator’s Summer Series events have struggled to garner much steam in the TV ratings.

Bellator 97 on Wednesday night did reasonably well, however, drawing and average audience of 679,000 viewers on Spike TV, which is well above the 480,000 viewers that Bellator 96 drew on June 19.

Bellator’s Season 8 averaged just under 800,000 viewers per event, but that was during the much more viewer friendly winter and spring months.

Bellator 97 benefited from a strong fight card that featured two title bouts and the light heavyweight tournament final, which King Mo Lawal won. The show’s high point, however, came just after the promotion announced that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson would headline the first Bellator pay-per-view offering opposite Tito Ortiz on Nov. 2.

Bellator 97 peaked at 856,000 viewers following the Rampage vs. Tito announcement.

2013 Summer Series TV Ratings:

Bellator 96: 480,000 viewers
Bellator 97: 679,000 viewers