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XFL TV Ratings were HORRID on ABC and ESPN | A Drop of 50 percent from 2020

XFL 2023: Week One TV Ratings On ABC/ESPN And FX
XFL 2023: Week One TV Ratings On ABC/ESPN And FX

According to SportMediaWatch.com, the XFL’s television numbers were not very great.

According to the report, there was a drop in viewership from the 2020 season when the XFL first returned. The drop was very significant as well. There was at least 50 percent drop for some games, here is how it breaks down.

You can check out the numbers via ProFootballTalk

The first game between Vegas and Arlington on ABC had 1.54 million viewers. That reflects a 54-percent drop over the 3.3 million who tuned in for the first game on ABC in February 2020. The actual reduction was likely even larger, given that out-of-home viewership was not included in the 2020 numbers.

The numbers also lagged behind the USFL debut in 2022 (3.07 million) and the AAF in 2019 (3.25 million). Those games were played in primetime and not in the afternoon, however.

The other ABC game, St. Louis at San Antonio, averaged 1.57 million viewers, a 54-percent drop from the same window in 2020. The night games on ESPN and FX drew 1.14 million on Saturday and 918,000 on Sunday.

As noted by SportsMediaWatch.com, the XFL didn’t have any viewership below a million until the fifth week of its 2020 season.

The XFL faced very stiff competition with the NBA All-Star Game (3.7 million viewers) on Sunday night, Tiger Woods and the PGA Genesis Open on the weekend (2.8 million/3.4) , and the Daytona 500 Sunday afternoon on FOX (8.1 million)

Should anyone worry? I wouldn’t but the Rock needs to invest more in marketing if they want the product to succeed. Get the people to games, make them fall in love with it. How can you do that? It is hard. I will say this, I thought it was pretty damn entertaining.

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

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