SBJ: Fox, NBC pleased with USFL
Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 1:10 am
MAJOR news in this article - GREAT reporting...
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/S ... =usfl&sc=0
Highlights:
-1 On broadcast, USFL averaged just over 1 million (927,000 if you take out the outlier debut simulcast)
-2 On cable, USFL averaged 305,000 viewers on FS1/USA, better than what the 2021 MLS season did on ESPN/ESPN2. The USFL's 3x spread between broadcast and cable is bigger than usual for sports that appear on both, and worth thinking more about.
-3 To Fox Sports Exec VP Mike Mulvihill, the numbers are proof that spring football belongs in the panoply of profitable spring/summer sports properties. “All we wanted to do is demonstrate that spring football can do viewership at the levels of Premier League, NHL regular season, Formula One or MLS. ... We want to show we belong in that category, and I think that happened.”
-4 “The USFL worked for us on a bunch of fronts,” said NBC Sports exec Jon Miller. “Is it a profitable property? All things put together, I would say yes, it was a profitable property for us.”
Miller said NBC was happy with the product, the play quality, the joint production with Fox and the viewership. “It did what we hoped it would do, and we’re excited to begin planning, once this season is over, to talk about 2023.”
-5 "The attendance issue was something we knew was likely to happen because of the one location. ... We’re working with (Fox) to address that for next year,” Miller said.
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With this said it looks like USFL is 100% back in 2023. And will be working on improvements during the offseason for next year. BTW some numbers look very slightly off - could be how they calculated the opening night (likely) or slightly diff numbers from ShowBuzz (or miscalc). Its neither here nor there.
I said it back in Dec with my initial USFL prediction, spring-summer is a tougher ratings time than winter-spring. Weather is a big player. As is play in cities and city mkt size. USFL was not going to beat XFL 2.0, but they did well, esp on Broadcast.
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/S ... =usfl&sc=0
Highlights:
-1 On broadcast, USFL averaged just over 1 million (927,000 if you take out the outlier debut simulcast)
-2 On cable, USFL averaged 305,000 viewers on FS1/USA, better than what the 2021 MLS season did on ESPN/ESPN2. The USFL's 3x spread between broadcast and cable is bigger than usual for sports that appear on both, and worth thinking more about.
-3 To Fox Sports Exec VP Mike Mulvihill, the numbers are proof that spring football belongs in the panoply of profitable spring/summer sports properties. “All we wanted to do is demonstrate that spring football can do viewership at the levels of Premier League, NHL regular season, Formula One or MLS. ... We want to show we belong in that category, and I think that happened.”
-4 “The USFL worked for us on a bunch of fronts,” said NBC Sports exec Jon Miller. “Is it a profitable property? All things put together, I would say yes, it was a profitable property for us.”
Miller said NBC was happy with the product, the play quality, the joint production with Fox and the viewership. “It did what we hoped it would do, and we’re excited to begin planning, once this season is over, to talk about 2023.”
-5 "The attendance issue was something we knew was likely to happen because of the one location. ... We’re working with (Fox) to address that for next year,” Miller said.
---
With this said it looks like USFL is 100% back in 2023. And will be working on improvements during the offseason for next year. BTW some numbers look very slightly off - could be how they calculated the opening night (likely) or slightly diff numbers from ShowBuzz (or miscalc). Its neither here nor there.
I said it back in Dec with my initial USFL prediction, spring-summer is a tougher ratings time than winter-spring. Weather is a big player. As is play in cities and city mkt size. USFL was not going to beat XFL 2.0, but they did well, esp on Broadcast.