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[Regular Joe]

That's what the original XFL got in the ratings Week 1.

Had they run that league the way they have run this version, the league would still have existed the whole time.

[LeoNY]

That's what the original XFL got in the ratings Week 1.

Had they run that league the way they have run this version, the league would still have existed the whole time.

Probably. The TV landscape is different now. So many more viewing options in 2020 as opposed to 2001.

As Mike Mitchell recently stated in a podcast interview. The ratings expectations won’t be as high. The bar is lower. The games are not on in prime time and the networks are satisfied with only getting a few million viewers weekly. Especially on cable or in the afternoon. There are thousands of viewing options now and the pie is not as big as it once was. Tv shows are happy to get crumbs off of that pie.

[Regular Joe]

Just need the same ratings all the other sports get in those time slots.

Except Ice Skating....ice skating beats everyone. Everyone tunes in for ice skating.

Can do better then the 1.6 NHL generates...which is what the final XFL ratings were.

3.5 is a solid number. It will open higher, due to curiosity (which it might have been better to start up towards the end of NFL playoffs and in probowl week, I digress) I think 3.5 average is high, maybe 2.7, I'm a fan so you know they got my positive support.

[Sounder]

In the days before their problems really started to become public, (week one)......the AAF.....not knowing it was paid programming being aired on CBS, gleaned a respectable audience and managed to outperform the NBA, NHL, and MLS or at least be in the same numbers area. I'd expect the XFL with a national doubleheader on ABC and Fox on Feb 8 to easily .....if not double the AAF viewing audience on opening weekend.

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

That's what the original XFL got in the ratings Week 1.

Had they run that league the way they have run this version, the league would still have existed the whole time.

That being said... the old XFL was run with a hype machine that amped up expectations to obscene levels... which, as we all remember, led to the massive disappointment when it actually began play. That's not going to be there this time around. Plus, the games are going to be played during the afternoon, out of prime time, which could have an unpredictable effect on ratings, depending on the weather.

It was 2001. Vince McMahon was in the throes of the Attitude Era. Sex and violence were his ideas of a good time. He tried transferring that to real sport, and it didn't work. Now we're approaching 2020. It's a different league. Better football, broader appeal, but can it get those eyeballs that it did in 2001 that way? It'll be tough.

[LeoNY]

The AAF was in that 300k to 1 million range. Mostly towards the former. The last AAF primetime Game wasn’t even ranked in the top 150 shows on cable during that weekend. Meaning that it was in that 100k viewer range if that.

Excluding the AAF opener on CBS in prime time which had over 3 million viewers. They may not have been able to sustain that number if they were on CBS every week. That was the curiosity number.

In the afternoons. You can’t really expect millions upon millions of viewers. If the XFL gets there. That’s great but I wouldn’t expect it. You have to compare the league to the other sports that are on during this time. They all do in the AAF range. Some more, some less.

The opening week should do well provided there are no real hiccups prior to launch. Maintaining a rating in that 1 to 3 million viewer range on early afternoons should be fine. The expectation level won’t be as high as it was for NBC in prime time. The two prime time games late in the year on Fox are uniquely positioned. It’s almost a test to see how strong the league has been able to maintain or build their audience.