'Power Slap' viewership slips on TBS, finds social media audience

Power Slap settled back down to close to its premiere viewership total in Week 3 of the episodic slap-fighting show created by UFC president Dana White. 

Wednesday’s broadcast on TBS had 284,000 viewers, according to ShowBuzzDaily. That estimate is just under Power Slap’s Jan. 18 debut and nearly 130,000 fewer than last week’s episode. 

While Power Slap’s three broadcasts have seen some yo-yo in viewership, the show has gained traction on social media, according to information provided to Front Office Sport by the promotion. 

• Jewel Scott’s knockout from the debut episode has been viewed 183.7 million times on TikTok.
• The hash #PowerSlap has 561 million views on TikTok.
• Power Slap’s followers on Instagram have increased by 79 percent since the show’s premiere. 

The personal stories of the fighters were played up in the most recent episode of Power Slap, which is using the same mix of competition and reality TV that helped UFC achieve a wider audience after “The Ultimate Fighter” debuted in 2005. 

One competitor drank too much and nearly caused a brawl in the house where they all stayed during filming. There was a training montage. We learned about the rough lives of Mike Smith (Slap Jesus) and Jon Kennedy (Slap Daddy). 

“I haven’t always been the best dad, but parenting has been a learning thing for me,” Kennedy said. “I am just trying to be the best I can. I am not trying to live off my past and what happened back then.”

Kennedy was TKO’d by Jon Davis, who found slap fighting after he said a shoulder injury resulted in a medical discharge from the Marines. 

Smith beat Jesus Gaspar Diaz via a decision. In the last fight of the episode, Chris Thompson knocked out Waylon Frost, whose arms were left in a fencing position that is indicative of a concussion. 

“I love you, dog,” Thompson told Frost as he lay on the canvas.