Through seven weeks, UFL telecasts are averaging 834k viewers, which is 37% better than last year’s average for all regular season USFL and XFL games in 2023 (609k).
Nevertheless, the league is coming off its lowest weekly average of the season in Week 7. (645k), mainly due to three of four games airing on cable rather than over-the-air broadcasts on ABC and FOX.
In Week 8, the UFL’s slate flipped back to its prominent channels with two games on FOX and one on ABC. Did it lead to better overall viewership in Week 8?
Saturday, May 18
Sunday, May 19
For week 8, the UFL averaged 643,000.
The 30 UFL telecasts are averaging 806,000 viewers through Week 8
For the entire season through week 8, the UFL on ESPN platforms is up 27% vs the 2023 XFL/USFL full, regular season average. Across all linear platforms
Analysis:
This week’s overall numbers on FOX were discouraging for the UFL, but the league’s number with the Battlehawks on ABC salvaged the overall slate. The matchup was the most-watched on ESPN platforms this season.
This past weekend, the heavyweight competition head-to-head against the NBA and NHL playoffs limited and hindered the UFL’s overall viewership averages. The UFL has typically produced a decent rating floor that compares favorably to sports leagues in the landscape with similar audiences (MLS, Premier League, etc.), but creating a higher floor and ceiling has been challenging for spring pro football.
T-Wolves/Nuggets Game 7 was most-watched sporting event of the weekend w/8.41 million (7.505m on TNT, 905K on truTV)
6.447m for Knicks/Pacers game 7 on ABC
— Sports TV Ratings (@SportsTVRatings) May 21, 2024
ABC and FOX will split the broadcasts in the penultimate week of the UFL regular season. However, the Sunday afternoon slate on FOX features another two-game regionalized showing in the same time slot, which the network utilized on two separate occasions earlier this season.
The UFL’s playoff matchups two weeks from now are already sewn up, with Michigan vs Birmingham and St. Louis vs. San Antonio on June 8 and 9, respectively. The typical drama attached to playoff positioning could be lost by the time the final weekend of the regular season arrives, and ultimately, that could limit the ratings floor for the UFL.
Saturday, May 25
Sunday, May 26
You can find Mike Mitchell on X @ByMikeMitchell.
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Mike Mitchell is a pro football writer/insider with decades of experience covering and following multiple leagues for over four decades. He covers the New York Jets for TheJetPress.com at FanSided. He has also written for the XFL Board and at Hub Publishing, covering the CFL, XFL, and USFL.
