Last week in the USFL, we saw the final playoff spot claimed by the New Orleans Breakers after they decimated the Tampa Bay Bandits.
We’ve been covering the USFL ratings all season, and as we wrap things up we’ve seemed to find the baseline. The league has seemingly created a base to work off of as they head into season two, but before we get there we have a few weeks left to report.
Going into the weekend, only one match had any consequences. Would it impact the ratings? Let’s take a look.
So #USFL cable numbers ticked up while broadcast numbers are relatively flat. Here we go: The USA Network game scored 350k viewers while the FS1 game scored 389k viewers. The NBC broadcast scored 815k viewers while the FOX broadcast scored 742k viewers. 1/
— Seth “Collector of Footballs” Lessans (@TujuMaster) June 14, 2022
The first game of the weekend pitted the New Jersey Generals against the Michigan Panthers on NBC. At first look, it would seem that this game should have been a blowout. Instead the Panthers fought back and almost pulled off an upset, only losing by two-points. But, how many people tuned in? For the early Saturday game, NBC and the USFL were able to average 815,000 viewers.
Moving to the late-Saturday matchup between the Houston Gamblers and Birmingham Stallions. The Gamblers pulled off the biggest upset of the season, becoming the one team to snap their undefeated streak. The game aired on USA, which ultimately drew and average of 350,000 viewers. The league’s cable broadcasts have generally under-performed compared to the network broadcasts, but we’re seeing a slight bump this week.
Sunday’s early matchup had a lot on the line. The Tampa Bay Bandits were hoping to take out the New Orleans Breakers to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Breakers had other thoughts, and convincingly defeated the Bandits to punch their ticket to Canton, OH. The game ultimately was able to average 742,000 viewers on FOX. This is slightly lower than the FOX average, but up from the previous weeks numbers.
Capping off the week, we had the Philadelphia Stars taking on the Pittsburgh Maulers on FS1. Similar to the first game, this should have been an easy game for the Stars. Instead the Maulers almost secured their second win of the season. At the end of the game, Philadelphia edged it out 17-16. 389,000 people tuned into this matchup, which again shows a slight bump in the cable numbers week to week.
Next week is the final week of the inaugural USFL season, then we head to Canton, OH for the Playoffs and Championship. Just as we have all season, we’ll keep you updated as the ratings come in.
What was your favorite USFL matchup of week 9? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.
