It’s still early in the season to know if this will sustain, but the XFL seems to have made a huge impact with their first broadcast on ABC. According to ESPN, the debut game between the DC Defenders and Seattle Dragons drew 3.3 Million viewers.
The @xfl2020 on ESPN/ABC is off to a strong start! pic.twitter.com/ZjAzmTLmz9
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) February 10, 2020
Last year when the AAF debuted on CBS they beat the NBA by 100,000 viewers. The XFL crushed that, beating the NBA by over 1 Million viewers. The Lakers/Warriors game drew 2.25 Million viewers compared to the XFL’s 3.3 Million. This is great news for the league, but as we stated above it’s still too early to know if people will continue to watch.
When the XFL first aired in 2001 it did monster numbers in its first week, followed by a significant drop in viewership. This time around, things are obviously different. The league is 100% football focused, not to mention they have strong broadcast partners which makes it very easy for fans to find the games worldwide.
We’re still waiting on the numbers from the late game, as well as the Sunday games. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
