UFC Taking Pro Wrestling Viewers?, Ratings News, Batista

Credit: WrestlingObserver.com

– USA Network won the cable ratings race last week with a 2.5 primetime average to TNT's 1.8. SyFy came at #5 with a 1.3 and Spike was at #21 with a 0.7. RAW's two hours were #7 and #12 for the week. The Closer, Royal Pains, Burn Notice and the Michael Jackson memorial service coverage on CNN were the top rated cable shows.

– Here are the U.K. ratings for the week ending July 5: The replay of The Bash did 49,000 viewers, RAW did 28,000 live and 47,000 for the replay, SmackDown did 51,000 on Friday and 28,000 Saturday, and ECW did 31,000. TNA wasn't listed, which means less than 27,000.

– Paparazzi recently snapped some pics of Batista on South Beach and they have surfaced on WWTDD.com.

– The UK Financial Times ran a front page story today on UFC, saying that their first quarter revenue was up 41% and UFC expects to hit the $300 mark in revenue this year. The story has a quote from cable analyst Dana Myers who said that UFC has shifted fans from pro wrestling. Dana White said he goal is worldwide PPV over the internet and 4-5 million buys for big shows.