Last week a lot of people were pleasantly surprised by how well the XFL did in ratings for its debut broadcast; bringing in 3.3 Millions viewers. The same people had wondered if the league would be able to sustain this viewership. Looking back at the AAF, they had a steep drop after week 1. There were other factors, mainly access to the games. The Alliance debuted on CBS, but was bumped to NFL Network and Bleacher Report subsequent weeks. For it’s debut on CBS is pulled in 2.9524 Million viewers, dropping down to sub-500,000 levels the following week.
Well, we have great news for the XFL and its fans. The leagues success continued into the second week of the season. The league drew 2.262 Million average viewers, peaking at 3.381 Million. As a fan, this is exactly what you like to see. It was expected that we would see a dip in viewership after the first week, it was just a matter of hoe much. Before the league kicked off, we had predicted the XFL would pull in an average of 2 Million viewers per game. As long as they stay above that number, they should be in good standing with the broadcast partners.
The first broadcast featured two undefeated teams, showcasing the New York Guardians and the DC Defenders. Ultimately, the Defenders came out on top shutting out their opponent 27-0. This game averages 2.127 Million viewers, peaking at 2.389 Million.
The second ABC broadcast took place Sunday between the Dallas Renegades and the Los Angeles Wildcats. This game performed slightly better, coming in at 2.397 Million, peaking at 3.381.
Again, we’re still only into the second week of the first season, but if the games continue to be as good as they’ve been we expect the league to continue for years to come.
We’re still waiting on the numbers for the other broadcasts, normally these would come out Monday but were delayed due to Presidents Day.
