UFL sees staggering viewership drop off for opening week

The UFL isn’t off to a very strong start in Year 2.

The spring football league that came about after the merger of the USFL and XFL saw lackluster ratings for its opening games last weekend. According to UFL reporter Mike Mitchell, Friday evening’s opening game between the St. Louis Battlehawks and Houston Roughnecks averaged 690,000 viewers at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, down about 42% versus last year’s opener which averaged 1.18 million viewers on a Saturday afternoon. It should be noted, last year’s season opener did not directly compete with March Madness as this year’s did.

Nevertheless, things didn’t get much better for the league. Saturday’s afternoon game between the San Antonio Brahmas and Arlington Renegades averaged just 584,000 viewers on Fox. ESPN’s Sunday afternoon doubleheader did not fare any better. The Memphis Showboats and Michigan Panthers delivered just 569,000 viewers at noon ET, while the Birmingham Stallions and D.C. Defenders drew only 395,000 viewers.

Not a single UFL telecast during Week 1 matched the league’s season-long average of 816,000 viewers last year, a very concerning sign considering the league’s opening week should be one of its most-watched of the entire season.

Of course, the UFL’s season was off to a rocky start before the first ball was even snapped. The league entered the season teetering on a labor strike with its players, many of whom expressed displeasure with low salaries and a minimal pay raise from last year.

Spring football certainly hasn’t had a history of success in the United States, but relatively strong audience figures last season gave hope that the UFL could be a sustainable enterprise. So far this year, that future is looking less and less certain.