Power Slap debut episode viewership comes in under 300k

The debut episode of Power Slap on TBS did not do well on TV.

Power Slap is the brainchild of Dana White and he has hyped it up for months. Yet, after the New Year’s Eve incident where he hit his wife, it was delayed a week and it appeared to not do well with TV ratings.

According to the Nielsen Ratings System (h/t Jed I. Goodman), Power Slap averaged 295,000 viewers over the one-hour broadcast that started at 10 p.m. Overall, the show earned a .10 share in the coveted 18 to 49-year-old demographic with it landing overall at No. 45 for all cable ratings on Wednesday.

Power Slap followed AEW Dynamite which drew nearly a million viewers so roughly a third of the audience stayed on to watch the first episode.

Since White announced the launch of Power Slap, it has featured tons of backlash, but the UFC boss made it clear he didn’t care.

“We spend the money to make sure that we have two healthy people in there,” stated White during the clip. “We have proper medical attention during, and after the fight. There are all the things we needed to educate people on. Just like we had to educate people in mixed martial arts.”

It will be interesting to see how the viewership does over the rest of the season now that people are familiar with the product.

As well, when Dana White announced the launch of Power Slap, he was adamant it would draw well on TV.

“Look at the numbers this stuff pulls,” White said. “It’s perfect for social media. You couldn’t have a more perfect product for social media. We believe it will be strong on television, too.”

Power Slap airs on TBS every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET.

Did you watch the first episode of Power Slap on Wednesday? Let us know in the comment section, PENN Nation!