The top game in Week 1 was St. Louis Battlehawks-Michigan Panthers at 1.35 million viewers on Fox on Saturday afternoonGetty Images
While there were some questions about the UFL opening its spring football coverage during a crowded Easter weekend with the NCAA Tournament and the first full weekend of MLB games, TV numbers for the league from Fox and ESPN show the decision may have been justified.
The top game for the league (the result of a merger of the USFL and XFL) in Week 1 was St. Louis Battlehawks-Michigan Panthers at 1.35 million viewers on Fox on Saturday afternoon. This compares favorably to the Week 1 games for the USFL last season, which began its second season in mid-April. NBC had a high of 974,000 viewers in Week 1 last year for a Sunday game featuring the Houston Gamblers and the Panthers.
The 1.35 million viewers also is up 56% from what the combo of ABC, Fox and NBC averaged for all broadcast TV games for USFL/XFL last season.
In the earlier window on Saturday afternoon, Fox drew 1.18 million for Birmingham Stallions-Arlington Renegades, better than anything NBC or Fox drew in Week 1 of USFL 2023. But while comparing favorably to USFL Week 1, the UFL numbers were down from what the XFL debuted to in its Week 1 last year on ABC and ESPN/FX.
The XFL began last year in mid-February, just after the Super Bowl, and its best Week 1 game (San Antonio Brahmas and the Battlehawks) drew 1.57 million on ABC on a Sunday. ABC also drew 1.54 million for the first game of the season last year on a Saturday (Vegas Vipers and the Renegades).
Meanwhile, this past Sunday, ESPN began its UFL coverage with 960,000 viewers for Brahmas-D.C. Defenders, which is 119% higher than what USFL and XFL games drew on cable TV last season (FX/USA/ESPN/ESPN2/FS1). Later on Sunday, Memphis Showboats-Houston Roughnecks averaged 703,000).
