USFL/XFL tribalism is cute

[4th&long]

It's looks to me like the this leagues "super bowl" is opening the season.  Whatever rating it gets will set the tone.....can it beat the better than 3 million viewers they got in 2020?  The promotion has been good....I say it happens.  And I hope it's a good show because then people might tune in for more.   And this is an opportunity they have that won't occur again.

I don't think so. We'll be over a month removed from the last meaningful football game, so casual fans will be out of "football mode" by then. There's a lot of competition from all the NCAA winter sports championships that drove XFL ratings to embarrassingly low ratings last year this time.

2 million is in reach, but 3? I don't think so. 

I don't see a day time game in late March 30th  vs XFL 2020 Feb 8th.  Weather plays a big part in viewership IMO, esp with younger demo.  Now being Easter weekend and a couple weeks better than 2022 helps,

I'm saying 1.2-1.4 mm depending on competition, weather etc.   ESPN may do better on Easter Sunday.

My initial assessment for season is better than 2022 and both 2023 but no where near what XFL 2020 got.  Though it may be more consistent from start to finish.

Main reasons:
1) 2020 was played in Winter - the later half of season was never played. Winter IMO is a major advantage
2) VM and his money and promotion were much larger
3) The Markets for 2020 were 22% household market share.  The 2024 markets are only 11.3% - Half.  That to me is a big issue.
4) ESPN and Fox, plus 2 year lead up to launch

Just to back up claim on cold weather and viewing audience...

https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2024/c ... n-january/

>> Colder weather and NFL playoffs drive increased TV usage in January <<

This is one reason why I prefer Feb start for the league - even with March Mddness.  The Easter start is clearly to fill a programming void for Fox, but it does adversely impact viewership imo.

[slammer66]

The USFL vs XFL aspect of the new league is intriguing.     I do believe the QB's in the XFL were overall better but I think the USFL was better in the rank and file players.   Since they have been mixed up at this point I don't think what happens now is going to prove anything about the past leagues,  but the fans will claim it anyway.   It's all good.

[4th&long]

The USFL vs XFL aspect of the new league is intriguing.     I do believe the QB's in the XFL were overall better but I think the USFL was better in the rank and file players.   Since they have been mixed up at this point I don't think what happens now is going to prove anything about the past leagues,  but the fans will claim it anyway.   It's all good.

Interesting... I thought the USFL qbs in 2023 had a slight edge with MBT in USFL.

[4th&long]

https://www.espn.com/xfl/story/_/id/395 ... all-league

>> Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks represents the interests of 50% of the UFL board, while the other half is comprised of members of the XFL 3.0's ownership group: Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital Partners, Dany Garcia and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Fox Sports and Disney/ESPN are both broadcast partners. All 43 UFL games will be televised on ABC, Fox, ESPN, FS1 or ESPN2 and streamed on either ESPN+ or the Fox Sports app.

The season will start March 30, with four teams (two from each conference) advancing to the playoffs, which start on June 9. The UFL championship game will take place June 16 in a city to be announced later. <<