UFC White House card draws 17 million viewers on Paramount+

The UFC's South Lawn card at the White House pulled 17 million total viewers across the United States and Latin America, marking the largest exclusive live event in Paramount+ history.

Paramount+ announced Thursday that the special card averaged 8.2 million viewers across both markets combined, per Nielsen and Adobe Analytics. In the U.S. alone, MMA Fighting reports, the event averaged 7 million viewers with a total reach of 15.26 million. Latin America contributed another 1.2 million in average viewership and 1.67 million in overall reach.

How the White House numbers compare to past UFC broadcasts

The figures eclipse the UFC's debut on FOX in 2011, when Cain Velasquez defended his heavyweight title against Junior dos Santos in front of 5.7 million average viewers and a peak audience of 8.8 million. That card held the record for most-watched MMA event in U.S. history until a recent MVP MMA show headlined by Ronda Rousey versus Gina Carano averaged 9.3 million and peaked at 11.6 million on Netflix.

UFC CEO Dana White told the outlet he spoke with Paramount CEO David Ellison after the broadcast and said Ellison was thrilled with the early returns. "He was overjoyed by the early numbers for the card," White said, per the report.

The promotion is in year one of a seven-year, $7.7 billion rights deal with Paramount that moved the UFC off ESPN. Under the new contract, every UFC event airs on Paramount+ at no extra charge to the platform's 79 million subscribers. Worldwide viewership data for the White House card is expected next week.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — UFC White House card draws 17 million viewers across U.S. and Latin America on Paramount+