The XFL is apparently one and done — again.
ESPN reported Friday that the XFL has suspended operations, laid off all of its staff and “currently has no plans to return” for a second season next year.
Per the report, XFL CEO Jeffrey Pollack “stopped short” of saying the league was going out of business, but strongly hinted in that direction.
The new XFL lasted just five weeks before it, and the rest of sports, culture and society, was wiped out by efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Friday’s developments mark an about face for a league that stressed its intentions to return in 2021 when it called off its season last month.
The league opened with healthy numbers back in February, with three of its four opening weekend games averaging over three million viewers.
Ratings and viewership steadily declined from week one and no game averaged more than 1.55 million on the final weekend of play last month.
The full list of XFL ratings this season is available here.
Though no fault of its own, the new XFL had even less staying power than its 2001 predecessor, which at least lasted a full season and crowned a champion.
It is hard to know if the new XFL would have survived if not for the pandemic, especially considering that it had not reached the roughest portion of its schedule — a stretch in late March when it would have competed against NCAA Tournament games and been relegated to the likes of FS2.
[News from ESPN.com 4.10]
