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XFL’s Initial TV Ratings And Attendance Numbers Are Strong

Photo via @ESPNPR Twitter

The XFL’s first TV ratings came out and it was nothing short of excellent. The first XFL game was broadcasted on ABC when the Defenders outlasted the Dragons,31-19. The game averaged 3.3 million views and reached roughly 4 million towards the end of the game according to ESPN PR.

The highest market for viewership from the game was Seattle(6.4), Cleveland (4.6), and Columbus (4.5). Looks like Ohio really loves their football.

Although the XFL can expect high viewership week in and week out, every week will not be like this one. Many people tuned in due to the curiosity aspect.

Compared to the AAF, the startup league that failed last year, the XFL blew the AAF out of the water. Week 1 for the AAF had a peak of 2.9 million views compared to the XFL’s 4 million.

The stands were also packed for the games this opening weekend in the XFL. All 4 games had over 17,000 in attendance. Seattle and St. Louis have sold the most tickets so far and they were not even hosting games on opening weekend.

Both the TV views and attendance are great signs the XFL is here to stay… and for a long time.


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Growing up northwest of Los Angeles, Matthew Shapiro has lived and breathed sports from a young age. As a youth writer/reporter for the LA Wildcats, Matthew has combined his love for writing and sports. Outside of football, Matthew is a huge Lakers fan and wrote about the Lakers prior to joining XFL News Hub. You can follow Matthew on Twitter @matthewxfl or email him at matthew.shapiro@xflnewshub.com

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Gerard

    February 9, 2020 at 10:12 pm

    I enjoyed all 4 games. The play was pretty good for not having much time to practice. I love the kickoff rules and the punt rules. Also the extra point options are better then the NFL’s. Speed of the game was welcomed and so was the shortage of stopping of play due to replays. Also there were hits that would have been penalized in the NFL. I’m 66 and it reminded me of how the old style in the 60’s was played.
    1 foot in bounds rule is also a plus.

    Going forward I think if the XFL is going to succeed down the road they have to be abble to draft College players. They need a draft just like the old AFL had. With there pay scale the way it is they won’t be able to draft the big players but guys who would go in the 4th RD or lower in the NFL draft might opt to join the XFL.

    It was a good start for the League.

  2. Go 12-Guage

    February 10, 2020 at 10:03 am

    The Ohio viewership comes from the fact that Cordale is one of us – he’s a Buckeye and delivered us with a national championship in 2015.

  3. hunterlobeyone

    February 10, 2020 at 1:21 pm

    Seattle loves the XFL, I see Seattle Dragon merch and tags everywhere, no lie XFL is a success around here cause of the wide range of talent the XFL will except In exchange for the love of game… NFL has forgot that…

  4. Clint Porter

    February 12, 2020 at 11:58 am

    I personally was very impressed with the first game w/Defenders and I can honestly say that they played much better then the Skin’s have played in yrs. The one foot in was also a plus, like the old day’s with some of those Hits would’ve been a penalty in the NFL.
    Me and my 20 yr old son was so impressed we bought tickets to the Dallas game in 2 wks…
    I see the XFL Sticking around for awhile as long as they can create some type of Drafting system…

  5. Norbert

    February 17, 2020 at 10:47 am

    Using some kind of digital sources (YT, ESPNPlayer) a lot of European people also watched these games. Hungarian FaceBook pages also wrote a lot about it(Im am from Hungary). And I agree: I saw 2 games so far and I liked them.

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