Power Slap didn’t get the viewership that it may have hoped for.
Dana White’s Power Slap – a new slap fighting league – had a helpful lead-in from AEW Wrestling, which was the No. 3 show on the night with 969,000 viewers, but it reportedly failed to hold viewers’ attention. It ranked No. 45 of the top 50 cable telecasts for Wednesday, January 18, 2023.
Power Slap, which broadcasted on TBS at 10 p.m. ET, had a reported 295,000 viewers and a 0.10 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Shows that had a higher rating were The Ingraham Angle on Fox News (0.13), Kingdom Business on BET (.11) and 1000-lb Best Friends on TLC (0.10).
Power Slap was initally scheduled to debut on December 11, but White said it was pushed back because “I was supposed to come back (from vacation) and do this whole media tour, which obviously wasn’t going to happen when I got back.”
It was then delayed again after White was caught slapping his wife, Anne, while at a nightclub in Mexico during New Year’s. The UFC president has been apologetic since the incident – and his wife also made a statement defending the situation – and he is not expected to face any consequences despite calls to remove him from his role with the UFC.
The slap fighting league has received many criticism ahead of its debut. White told potential viewers who didn’t agree with the sport, “Nobody’s asking you to watch this! Oh, you’re disgusted by it? Watch The Voice.”