Johannesburg (South Africa) – EFC AFRICA 13 on 13 April proved to be a massive success on African television, pulling some of the highest TV ratings this year, and cementing itself as one of the most popular sports in Africa. Through its partnership with e.tv, starting less than 6 months ago, EFC AFRICA has clocked a cumulative audience of over 4.7 million people on the channel.

Plus corporates have jumped at the opportunity to profit off what is widely considered to be ‘the fastest growing sport in Africa’, with the likes of 1time Airline, Sun International, RDG, BetXchange, Fighters Only magazine, TapouT and MusclePharm all signing sponsorship agreements until 2013. “We pull better viewerships than rugby, cricket and golf, yet our sponsorships are far less expensive than all of them” says EFC AFRICA president Cairo Howarth. “No other sport gives this kind of value to brands and such a high return on their investment.”

When compared to other locally aired sport, EFC AFRICA 13:

· Drew a larger TV audience than Tri Nations, Super 15 and ABSA Currie Cup rugby on SuperSport

· Pulled a larger average audience share than all cricket games including international ODIs, Pro 20s and test matches

· Completely dominated ratings from the Nedbank Golf Challenge and boxing on SuperSport, even when combining the two

EFC AFRICA 13 was broadcast live on e.tv on Friday 13 April in a two hour broadcast slot from 22:30. The broadcast attracted an average audience of 770,178 viewers, 17.8% market share and a peak audience of over 1.1 million. The incredible ratings from the live e.tv broadcast of EFC AFRICA only took into account the South African audience, so with e.tv broadcasting into 49 countries across Africa, the true number of fans who tuned in was vastly higher. Since September 30 2011, e.tv has broadcast EFC AFRICA action 8 times (5 premier episodes and 3 repeats). Across those 8 broadcasts, a cumulative average audience of over 4.7 million has been reached.

Statistics from EFC AFRICA 13 also showed that the majority of television viewers were women, proving that EFC AFRICA is an inclusive form of sporting entertainment embraced by all walks of life. New fans are constantly being attracted, growing the fan base exponentially.

EFC AFRICA 13 was the second EFC AFRICA event to be broadcast live on e.tv and attracted a substantially higher amount of advertisers during the broadcast than EFC AFRICA 12, demonstrating the commercial viability and attractiveness to mainstream brands of Africa’s fastest growing sport. EFC AFRICA 13 was also the first EFC AFRICA event to take place outside of Johannesburg, and Cape Town welcomed Africa’s premier MMA promotion with open arms and attended the live event in droves. Due to the success of EFC AFRICA 13, plans have been made to return to Cape Town in September.

EFC AFRICA 14 takes place on 1 June at the Carnival City Big Top Arena. Tickets are on sale now at Computicket and Numetro cinemas, and main card bouts will be broadcast live on e.tv from 22h30, including two title bouts! Fight card and further broadcast information at efcafrica.com