The new XFL got off to a good start in the ratings.
Saturday’s Seattle-DC XFL season debut averaged a 2.1 rating and 3.30 million viewers on ABC, edging last year’s primetime Alliance of American Football opener on CBS (1.9, 3.25M), if no match for the original XFL opener on NBC in 2001 (9.5, 15.7M).
In stark contrast to the AAF and the original XFL, the debut audience was not the high water mark. It was surpassed a day later by the Tampa Bay-New York game on FOX, which averaged a 2.1 and 3.39 million — the largest audience for a non-NFL pro football game since Week 6 of the original XFL (3.67M).
XFL opening weekend delivered the three largest audiences over that span, with Saturday’s Los Angeles-Houston game ranking third at a 1.9 and 3.29 million.
The XFL ranked second, third and fourth among weekend sporting events, behind only Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tour Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on CBS (2.3, 3.51M). The three games on broadcast television each outdrew Saturday’s Duke-North Carolina men’s college basketball game on ESPN (1.6, 2.67M) and Lakers-Warriors NBA game on ABC (1.8, 2.88M).
The lone game on cable, St. Louis-Dallas on ESPN Sunday, averaged a 1.4 and 2.50 million, peaking at 2.93 million from 7:30-7:45 PM ET. No AAF game on cable exceeded a 0.6 and 1.02 million.
Notably, the four XFL games were the most-watched sporting events of the weekend in adults 18-49.
Select XFL local ratings
— St. Louis: 7.4 (STL-DAL), 4.6 (TB-NY), 4.1 (LA-HOU)
— Seattle-Tacoma: 6.4 (SEA-DC)
— Houston: 5.7 (LA-HOU)
— Tampa-St. Petersburg: 5.6 (TB-NY), 3.7 (LA-HOU)
— Cleveland: 4.6 (SEA-DC), 4.0 (TB-NY)
— Columbus, Ohio: 4.5 (SEA-DC)
— Kansas City: 4.3 (SEA-DC), 3.8 (TB-NY), 3.4 (LA-HOU), 2.8 (STL-DAL)
— Dallas-Ft. Worth: 4.2 (STL-DAL), 3.9 (TB-NY), 3.5 (LA-HOU)
— Washington DC: 4.0 (SEA-DC)
— Atlanta: 3.4 (LA-HOU)
— Norfolk, Va.: 2.4 (STL-DAL)
— Charlotte: 2.3 (STL-DAL)
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 2.11, ESPN, Fox Sports]
