M-1 Global Aims to Build on Showtime ‘Trial Run’

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In the ever-changing climate of North American mixed martial arts, breaking into the United States television market is no easy task.

On March 25, M-1 Global held M-1 Challenge 24 at the Ted Constant Convention Center in Norfolk, Va. The event was broadcast nationally on Showtime, the Russian promotion’s first venture onto premium cable in North America. M-1 officials hope it will not be their last.

“Showtime is looking at [M-1 Challenge 24] as a trial, but we hope that we might be able to go forward [with Showtime] from 2011 on,” says M-1 Global Director of Operations Evgeni Kogan.

Although considered a trial, Showtime did not take the show lightly, sending its lead production crew to capture the event, along with main MMA commentators Mauro Ranallo and Pat Miletich to call the action.

Though this is the promotion’s first foray onto live American television, it is not the first time its product has been shown. In the past, M-1 Challenge events aired on tape delay on Friday nights on HDNet. However, M-1 has been savvy with Internet streaming, broadcasting events live from Russia and other countries. This cultivated a sizable hardcore following, contributing to its ability to generate a large numbers of viewers during its first live show.

M-1 will continue to use streaming as a viable means of transmitting its product. M-1 Challenge 25 will take place on April 28 in St. Petersburg, Russia, headlined by a welterweight title bout between champion Shamil Zavurov and challenger Magomed Magomedov. M-1 will return to Showtime with its M-1 Challenge 26 card, featuring new lightweight champion Jose Figueroa defending against Germany’s Daniel Weichel. A venue has not yet been named.

The current format of M-1 Challenge events is markedly different from the organization’s earlier strategies. Previously, M-1 ran team-based international tournaments, with more than 16 countries represented at its highest point and an even greater number of teams. However, Kogan realized “this wasn’t a formula that worked, and the majority of 2010 was spent reshuffling the ‘Challenge’ system whilst having the ‘Selection’ system.” By the end of 2010, officials at M-1 felt they had developed enough talent through their Selection series to test a new Challenge formula. The team-based format was scrapped in favor of a belt system. This new and improved series, M-1 believed, was worthy of American television.

M-1’s negotiations with Showtime and Strikeforce over the services of Fedor Emelianenko provided it with a forum to broach the subject of televising the M-1 Challenge series in North America. Continuing negotiations allowed M-1 to propose the idea of televising their Challenge series.

As Kogan recalls, the deal came about organically as “it was just one of the many points that were eventually agreed on.”

“These things usually take place in conversation [after you think of them]; something is suggested, and if there is no instant push back, it usually grows,” he added. “It’s discussed more later and then finally makes it into the terms of the agreement.”

Showtime provided M-1 with an opportunity “to showcase the fighters that we have been able to bring up from the strong Russian and Eastern European base ... and to be able to bring our product to the American market,” Kogan said. In a market where promotions such as Bellator Fighting Championships and Strikeforce have struggled to find their niche, M-1’s hope is that its product can attract a North American audience through an increased emphasis on finishes.

“We take on fighters and we communicate with them to achieve a situation where they are leaving everything in the ring,” Kogan said.

The message seems to be getting through. At M-1 Challenge 23 on March 5, none of the show’s 11 fights went to a judges’ decision, and only one fight at M-1 Challenge 24 went the distance. Even commentator Pat Milletich was impressed by the violence exhibited in the cage on March 25.

“The Eastern bloc fighters were exciting; there is not a lot of self preservation shown. They really get at it,” the former UFC champion said.

The knockouts in Virginia were vicious, as one undercard heavyweight scrap ended with a brutal thud when Johnny Curtis dropped Bobby Gurley with an uppercut to the guts. Even on the main card, the violence continued when “White Wolf” Magomed Sultanakhmedov kneed Tyson Jeffries into defeat to claim the M-1 middleweight belt. Unbeaten prospect Alexander Sarnavskiy also showed similar cutthroat sensibilities in dominating tough Virginian wrestler Beau Baker.

In short, M-1 delivered on its promise to provide viewers with finishes. Whether or not the fights lead to anything larger in terms of title defenses or a cohesive promotional product remains to be seen. In the lead-up to M-1 Challenge 24, many observers noted that the event was fast approaching with little fanfare.

“We didn’t promote this, probably, as much as we could have,” Kogan admits, noting that much of the focus for the show was based on garnering acceptable television ratings, which will determine the nature of the promotion’s relationship with Showtime in the near future.

In spite of this perceived lack of promotion, the show performed surprisingly well in terms of television ratings. M-1 Challenge 24 drew a total of 189,000 viewers, and the program earned a 0.52 household rating. Not too surprisingly, M-1 officials are encouraged with the initial rating on Showtime.

“We’re pleased with the initial results, which don’t take into account viewership from the re-air that ran [March 29] or the broadcast in Russia. This gives us a baseline for future events, which we will aim to steadily increase,” said M-1 Media Relations Director Eric Nicholl.

By most accounts, M-1 has a right to be pleased with the ratings, as they are rather high for a show that was aired in a particularly difficult time slot -- 11 p.m. on a Friday is not ideal television viewing time for males aged 18 to 34. Furthermore, the product contains little name recognition, as most of M-1’s fighters are developing Eastern European fighters.

The most recent Strikeforce Challengers show on Showtime only averaged 200,000 viewers in the same time slot. Challengers has had the benefit of multiple shows to build its product, yet only drew 11,000 more viewers in its latest show. Furthermore, M-1, which was aired on Showtime, significantly outdrew the better-known Bellator card the following day, shown in primetime on MTV2. Bellator only managed to draw 150,000 viewers for its inaugural light heavyweight tournament quarterfinals. However, it is important to note that Bellator was in competition with the preliminary bouts from UFC Fight Night 24, which were streamed live on Facebook. Even so, considering the difference in time slot, brand recognition and platform -- MTV2 reaches 64 million homes, while Showtime has just less than 20 million subscribers -- it was an impressive showing for M-1.

The task of creating a viable MMA promotion in North America remains daunting, even with a television deal secured. The Strikeforce Challengers series has struggled to build anything beyond 200,000-250,000 viewers, even with Showtime utilizing a free preview weekend to build buzz for Strikeforce Challengers 7. Between Challengers 6 and 7 there was a 111 percent increase from 150,000 viewers to 316,000, but no Challengers cards have surpassed that number. In fact, most Challengers events have stabilized around the 200,000-250,000 viewer mark. Strikeforce has the advantage of using predominantly American fighters, as well.

For M-1, striving to achieve numbers similar to the Strikeforce Challengers series is not enough to keep it afloat. MMA is a pay-per-view-driven business, and Showtime makes its largest profit through its boxing pay-per-views. It is only logical to assume that, in the future, M-1 will be required to put on profitable pay-per-view events. It will be difficult to build a pay-per-view product on its current medium, as evidenced by the lack of increased viewership for the Strikeforce Challengers series. With M-1’s current crop of Eastern European fighters, this task will prove even more challenging. Unless the promotion signs quality, well-known fighters with built-in drawing power, growing the brand could prove to be exceedingly problematic.

The timing of the show coincided with the acquisition of Strikeforce by UFC parent company Zuffa LLC, resulting in a unique promotional situation: Showtime now televises both Strikeforce and M-1 Global events. Directly, the merger does not affect M-1, but more broadly, M-1 hopes to build its product through the acquisition of “big name fighters, to drive more strongly into the American market.” This strategy may prove difficult, as the pool of Zuffa-controlled fighters continues to grow in conjunction with its increasing number of cards. Long term, M-1 hopes its relationship with Showtime will continue to grow past 2010. Kogan describes Showtime as “an ideal partner” for his company’s product.

When asked about long-term goals, Kogan was open to all possibilities.

“Who knows? We could see Fedor fighting on M-1. The future is big, and I think the possibilities are limitless,” he said. “We are taking it a step at a time.”