NBC's inaugural XFL broadcast, featuring the N.Y./NJ Hitmen-Las Vegas Outlaws, earned a 10.3/17 overnight Nielsen rating, marking the net's highest-rated Saturday night since September 30, 2000. The 10.3 more than doubled NBC's Saturday night January '01 average of a 4.2/7. NBC won primetime Saturday, as ABC earned a 7.6/12, CBS a 7.2/12 and Fox a 5.8/10 (NBC). But NBC's rating "fell in each half-hour from the opening play" until 11:00pm ET, "dropping from" a 12.9 from 8:00 to 8:30, to an 8.9 from 10:30 to 11. The rating rose to a 9.2 from 11:00 to 11:15, when NBC switched from the N.Y./NJ Hitmen-Las Vegas Outlaws to the more competitive Chicago Enforcers-Orlando Rage. The N.Y. market posted a 9.5, while Las Vegas, the "top-rated market," did a 17.7. Minneapolis got a 14.9 "probably because people there wanted to see" MN Gov. Jesse Ventura broadcast the game. After Las Vegas, Birmingham was the second highest-rated market with a 12.5, followed by Memphis with an 11.4. Both are XFL markets (N.Y. TIMES, 2/5). The broadcast earned a 10.8/19 in Boston (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/5). The fourth quarter of Enforcers-Rage earned an 11.9/19 in Chicago when NBC switched games (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/5). DAILY VARIETY's Rick Kissell reports that the broadcast "dominated virtually every" demo, "while delivering the second largest Saturday night audience for any net this season." NBC has now won the first three nights of the February sweeps in both adults 18-49 and total viewers. While the preliminary Nielsen numbers were a "bit unreliable due to the live nature of the game, ... all indications are that young adults — especially males — turned out in droves" (DAILY VARIETY, 2/5). Meanwhile, yesterday's L.A. Xtreme-S.F. Demons game on UPN earned a 4.2/8, more than double the January affiliate average (THE DAILY).
WILL RATING HOLD UP? Schulman/Advanswers media buyer Tom DeCabia, on NBC's rating: "It's like a new restaurant and everyone went [Saturday] night to check out the food. Now they have to see [if] they can do it on a consistent basis" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 2/4). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes "not surprisingly" the broadcast "did big ratings numbers. Curiosity-seekers. But kiss them goodbye. There isn't enough scripted low-life garbage to keep the pro wrestling fans and there's too much scripted low-life garbage to keep the football fans" (N.Y. POST, 2/5). USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke writes, "Increasing the double entendres and attention to the cheerleaders ... could keep needed advertisers such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Visa on the sidelines." Also, NBC "needs to smooth out several areas to get this viewer to believe this is 'must-see TV'" (USA TODAY, 2/5). In Chicago, Rick Telander: "[The XFL] has to remain legit to succeed. ... Young people don't go for tame, condescending shows anymore" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 2/5). In Miami, Greg Cote: "There is a niche market for this brand of ball. ... Incessant promotion will help sustain the buzz" (MIAMI HERALD, 2/4). Sandbox.com claims that 210,000 people have signed up for an XFL fantasy league (N.Y. POST, 2/4).
PRODUCTION: In Boston, Jim Baker reports while NBC Sports Chair Dick Ebersol "insisted he'd never employ a scorebox" in the corner of the screen, the XFL debut "showed one throughout" (BOSTON HERALD, 2/5). In St. Louis, Dan Caesar: "The cheerleaders, as promised, were an integral part of the telecast. They strutted around in skimpy costumes and even danced in the stands with fans" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/4). In Orlando, Jerry Greene: "One thing NBC must change is using their overhead camera as their main shot. We are used to looking at football from the side, which is why [you'd] never pay more for an endzone seat than sitting on the 50" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 2/4). In Toronto, Chris Zelkovich wrote while the on-field and overhead cameras "provided some views of football fans don't normally see, they failed to bring viewers closer to the real action" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 2/4). In Boston, Howard Manly: "The most glaring disappointment was the use of cameras. NBC had plenty on the field and above the field — and still missed plays. NBC's attempt to be different ... was annoying at best" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/4). But in Pittsburgh, Chuck Finder calls the camera angles "awesome." More Finder: "Other aspects to love: no commercials for the opening eight minutes; hearing the officials huddle before making their calls; the offensive coordinator and quarterback talk; the trash talk; rare replays" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 2/5). In AZ, Bill Goodykoontz wrote the "behind-the-line camera angles were interesting, mostly because we hadn't seen them before" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/4). Ebersol "hinted that the XFL wouldn't hesitate to change on the fly" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/5). On yesterday's 11:00am ET edition of "SportsCenter," Brian Kenney said the XFL had "innovative TV production value, (but I could) do without the sideline cheese" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 2/4). CNBC's Mark Haines: "I think the on-air presentation could use a little work, to be honest with you" ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 2/5).
IN THE BOOTH: In L.A., Mike Penner wrote, "Testosterone was raging more intensely in the broadcast booth than on the field" (L.A. TIMES, 2/4). In Atlanta, Prentis Rogers writes while Ventura "won't make us forget John Madden," he "did fine in this format" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 2/5). In Minneapolis, Whereatt & McGrath note that XFL analyst Jesse Ventura was "never identified on air" as MN Gov. (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/4). In St. Paul, Brian Lambert wrote Ventura "didn't appear to have wandered into any new political trouble" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 2/4).
DID THEY LIKE IT? ESPN's Mike Lupica said the XFL "wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be ... so it tells you what kind of bottom-feeding I actually expect this to be, especially for NBC. ... [Ebersol] is obsessed with having something to show, and now it turns out ... he shows cheerleaders." Bill Conlin: "It took the NFL 50 years to achieve parity. It took the XFL one night to achieve parody" ("Sports Reporters," ESPN, 2/4). In Chicago, Ed Sherman: "The first game was a mixture of bad football, bad lines and an overdose of political incorrectness" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/4)....In Dallas, Barry Horn: "Here's one reaction to the [game]: Yawn" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/4). In St. Paul, Bob Sansevere writes the XFL was "unable to deliver the attitude intimidation and smash-mouth it has been hyping since its inception" (PIONEER PRESS, 2/5). In Dallas, Rick Gosselin called the quality of play "average at best" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/4). In Denver, Ray McNulty wrote the action on the field was "little more than a sideshow. ... The only real surprise was the football. It was worse than anyone could have expected" (DENVER POST, 2/4). In Hartford, Jeff Goldberg wrote besides the football, "Everything else about the league's opening night had the feel of a staged performance" (HARTFORD COURANT, 2/4). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir: "It was bad football called by bad announcers backed by bad entertainment" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/4). In San Diego, Jay Posner reported censors "eliminated naughty words on an estimated 10-15 occasions" McMahon, when asked for an exact total: "More times than during the Super Bowl" (UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/4). In L.A., Tom Hoffarth: "It was pro wrestling-with-helmets giant screen presentation. Football was secondary" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 2/4). In S.D., Jerry Magee: "The evening had none of the energy that [AFL] games generate" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/4). In Chicago, Jay Mariotti: "My initial impressions are worse than anticipated. The product is nothing but minor-league football." The broadcast featured "tacky sitcom scenes dominated by near-naked cheerleaders, heavy breathing announcers and have-no-life audiences" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 2/5). In N.Y., Caryn James writes the XFL "failed to deliver on the most lurid promises ... of its advance hype. The show was surprisingly tame" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/5). In St. Louis, Bernie Miklasz writes the broadcast was "silly and contrived." If the league's goal was to "score a dazzling touchdown by shocking" the audience, then McMahon "settled for a field goal" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/5). In Philadelphia, Bill Lyon wrote the XFL "looked like a victim of its own chest-thumping. It has made so many extravagant promises of what it will deliver that, like a desperate politician, it cannot make good on it" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 2/4). But the CP's Dan Ralph wrote the XFL "lived up to all the hype. ... After months of billing itself as smashmouth football with attitude, the upstart league kicked off its inaugural season Saturday with a promising and entertaining product" (CP, 2/4).
