The XFL had its least-watched week yet opposite the NCAA Tournament.
Week five of the XFL season averaged just 264,000 viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and FX, down 48% from the previous week (506K) and easily the least-watched week of the season. Individually, the four games in week five rank as the four least-watched in XFL history — including the previous iteration three years ago.
Orlando-Vegas on Saturday night ranks as the least-watched of the games with a 0.15 rating and 234,000 viewers on FX. Sunday’s Arlington-San Antonio game ranks second at a 0.16 and 246,000 on ESPN2 and last Thursday’s Houston-Seattle game third at a 0.17 and 256,000 on ESPN.
All three of those games began after 9 PM ET and two began after 10 PM. The week’s earliest game — DC-St. Louis on FX Saturday at 7 PM ET — was the most-watched of week five with a 0.19 and 320,000.
The new XFL has now lasted for as many weeks as the prior version three years ago, but it should be noted that the 2020 league did not ever have to compete with the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. All four week five windows aired opposite competing tournament games.
Game-by-game XFL viewership, first five weeks
After averaging 1.3 million viewers in week one, viewership has declined in each subsequent week of the XFL. Keep in mind no game has aired on broadcast television since week one. ABC is scheduled to air its first XFL game in more than a month this coming Saturday in a window that will not compete with the men’s tournament.
In addition, there are only two games remaining on schedule on FX — which owns seven of the ten smallest audiences this season — and none that begin at or after 10 PM ET.
(Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 3.21)
