UFL CONCLUDES INAUGURAL SEASON WITH SIGNIFICANT GROWTH ACROSS KEY CONSUMER METRICS
June 27 2024 - 11:20AM
ARLINGTON, TX – June 27, 2024 – The United Football League
officially completed its inaugural season on June 16, as the
Birmingham Stallions defeated the San Antonio Brahmas in the UFL
Championship Game to become three-time defending spring football
champions.
The season was highlighted by extraordinary action on the field,
groundbreaking television broadcasts, significant social media
interactions, and strong corporate partner support.
The League’s inaugural season exceeded expectations, building on
the legacies of both the USFL and XFL brands. For 2025, the focus
remains on continued execution and innovation, both on and off the
field, to benefit players, fans, viewers, and corporate
partners.
“With our first championship in the books, the UFL has clearly
made its mark in the spring sports calendar with strong viewership
across platforms all season long. The high-level, quality football
on the field paired with our innovative production and content
distribution approach has been a winning combination for football
fans,” said Russ Brandon, President and CEO, United Football
League.
Brandon continued, “The UFL has had consistently high levels of
engagement throughout the season, which serves as proof of concept,
confirming the undeniable demand for spring football. We appreciate
the support we've received from our players, league and team-level
employees, partners, and fans. With a robust foundation in place,
we are poised to continue our growth trajectory as we look ahead to
2025 and beyond.”
2024 Full Season Highlights:
BROADCAST VIEWERSHIP
Full Season ·The UFL reached 32 million unique
viewers (per Nielsen data)·The 2024 UFL season averaged
850K total viewers per game·+34% increase over the
2023 XFL/USFL combined season averages (635K)·Network broadcasts
averaged 945,000 viewers through the championship game, up over 9%
against the 2023 XFL/USFL combined season broadcast averages
(864K)·Cable telecasts averaged 630,000 viewers, up 43% against the
2023 XFL and USFL combined season cable averages (441K)·Viewership
for UFL Today, ESPN’s weekly digital post-game show was
up 20% vs. 2023 across YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN App. |
Championship Game·The UFL Championship game averaged
1,596,000 viewers on FOX.·Up 23% over last year’s
average of 1,298,000 viewers for the respective XFL and USFL
Championship games on ABC and NBC.·Telecast peaked with
1,723,000 viewers from 6:15-6:30pm.·Best performance for a
UFL game on any network.·Within the markets of the participating
teams, the Championship game delivered a 6.8 rating/19 share and
3.6 rating/15 share in Birmingham and San Antonio, respectively
|
Viewership Demographic Increases (vs XFL/USFL
combined season average): |
·P2+: +35% ·Adults 18-49: +36%o Female
+43%o Male +33% |
·Adults 18-34: +36%o Female
+47%o Male +29% |
SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
Total Views·283M views across all social platformso
Instagram: 136Mo Facebook: 51Mo TikTok:
62Mo X: 34M·Total views for the season beat out total
views for the 2022/2023 USFL season and the 2023 XFL season by 100
million+ views.·UFL content across ESPN social channels was up 34%
vs. 2023. |
Followers·4.13M Total Social Media followers:
-
- Instagram:
1.57M
- X: 857K
- Tik Tok: 786K
- Facebook: 674K
o Threads: 249K·465K new followers gained since the
start of the season.
- YouTube: Tallied
20.3M views and gained 55k subscribers, outperforming the season
totals of the 2023 USFL and XFL season
|
UFL DIGITAL PLATFORMS
UFL App·Launched on March 19, the app now has 106K active users
and 7.3M screen views. |
UFL Website·Launched on December 31,
2023, theufl.com has 4M users and 12M screen views. |
ATTENDANCE
·Over 580K fans attended UFL games.·St. Louis set the attendance
record for a modern spring football league game with 40,317 at The
Dome at America’s Center on April 6. |
FOOTBALL HIGHLIGHTS
Gameplay Metrics·93.3% kickoff return rate.·Average starting
field position is the 36.5-yard line. ·Average of 43.2 points per
game.·Jake Bates' 64-yard field goal set a spring football record
and is two yards short of the NFL record of 66 yards by Justin
Tucker |
UFL to NFL·The UFL has quickly become the place for players
looking to fulfill their dreams of playing in or returning to the
NFL·12 players signed to NFL contracts as of June 26 |
INNOVATION
The UFL’s use of cutting-edge technology is breaking new ground
in broadcast and game operations to lead the game into the
future.·TrU LINE virtual line to gain: ·Replaced the chain gain
with 4K optical cameras that use machine learning to determine the
exact measurement for line to gain based off where the ball is
spotted ·Portable 4K cameras that detect the exact location of the
ball, relative to the line to gain, whenever referees request a
spot via their wireless headsets |
·Elevated coach-to-player communications allowed teams to have up
to eight players equipped with a helmet module allowing them to
hear the offensive or defensive playcaller·Supported full motion
live sideline video with Apple IPADs and DVSport Rewind technology
allowing coaches and players to make instant in game adjustments
·Mindfly body armor camera used by UFL officials ·ActionStreamer
helmet cam used by UFL players |
CORPORATE PARTNERS
In its inaugural season, the UFL announced a groundbreaking,
exclusive partnership with The United States Army
as the Presenting Partner. The two organizations
collaborated on leadership development initiatives, community
engagement events, and increasing awareness of the opportunities
the Army and UFL offer young leaders and athletes to create the
future they want. |
The UFL also received robust corporate support during its
inaugural season from both emerging and well-established brands
eager to grow with the league. ·Gatorade·Molson Coors·Under
Armour·Verizon·Big Game·Westgate Resorts·Progressive
Insurance·ZOA ·CBD
Kratom·Teremana·FedEx ·MSX ·Underdog Fantasy·Henry
Schein·Missouri Tourism |
About the United Football LeagueThe United Football League (UFL)
is the premier spring football platform, formed by the merging of
the XFL and USFL in 2024 under the combined ownership of RedBird
Capital Partners, FOX, Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson. The UFL has
eight teams in Arlington (TX), Birmingham (AL), Detroit (MI),
Houston (TX), San Antonio (TX), Memphis (TN), St. Louis (MO), and
Washington D.C.
UFL Media ContactsJeff Altstadter, VP,
CommunicationsJeff.altstadter@theufl.com973-908-9991
Bianca Gamez, Director of Communications
bianca.gamez@theufl.com
Jeffrey Altstadter
XFL
973-908-9991
jeff.altstadter@xfl.com