The ratings are in from this past Friday Night’s UFL 2025 opening game on FOX. The primetime opener, which featured the St. Louis Battlehawks at the Houston Roughnecks and aired at 8 p.m. ET, averaged 690,000 viewers. The telecast peaked at 844,000 viewers during the first 15 minutes of the game.
Last season’s UFL opener on Saturday, March 30, saw the Birmingham Stallions and Arlington Renegades average 1.181 million viewers in the 1 pm Eastern time slot.
There’s no question that the league’s direct competition against the NCAA’s March Madness contributed to the UFL’s tepid debut performance. FOX’s Saturday afternoon game featuring the Arlington Renegades and San Antonio Brahmas will not be available until Tuesday. The UFL’s opening weekend also saw a doubleheader on ESPN this past Sunday.
Week 2 UFL TV Schedule
| Matchup | Date, time | Location | How to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Stallions at Michigan Panthers | Friday, April 4 at 8 p.m. ET | Ford Field (Detroit, MI) | FOX |
| Memphis Showboats at DC Defenders | Saturday, April 5 at 8 p.m. ET | Audi Field (Washington, DC) | ABC |
| Houston Roughnecks at Arlington Renegades | Sunday, April 6, at noon ET | Choctaw Stadium (Arlington, TX) | ESPN |
| San Antonio Brahmas at St. Louis Battlehawks | Sunday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. | The Dome at America’s Center (St. Louis, MO) | FS1 |
4 Comments
by 4th&long
Disappointing numbers to be sure. Right in the middle of 4 sweet 16 games, yes but, it was a Friday night. Was hoping for close to 1mm. I don’t watch alot of broadcast TV so not sure if there was alot of advertising. I can’t recall a UFL game peaking early like that so clearly people jumped back to CBB (4 games that night, over lapping with Houston Cougars playing 10:15ish).
So that means only 844k tuned into the game, that’s a major issue. They stayed for first 15min. On the plus side 82% were retained for the full game, for that loopsided and half (Roughneck half)sloppy game. So if they can get the initial number up they may have good night next week w/o any CBB.
And remember last years Saturday opener did not go head to head with CBB Tournament
The ABC Sat Night game is against Houston/Duke in Final 4. Could be rough. But at least its Memphis and DC, two teams not in same city as CBB.
Keep them coming Mike.
by Stephen Sullivan
When do we get Saturday/Sunday’s numbers? 🤔
Thanks 🤙
by Gary Winter
I agree that the numbers were disappointing but it truly was either bad luck or a bad decision to open the season the same week as MLB and NCAA’s March Madness. The 7000+ fans in Houston was also a disappointment and not a very good look for a league trying to plant some seeds with new fans.
On the other hand, how about them Battlehawk’s? Of course a better, more competitive game would have been helpful. Hopefully the numbers will increase across the board as we get into the season further.
by Ken Granito
The play that told me the most about Manny Wilkins this week was when he missed a wide open 6’6” Offensive Player of the year for a touchdown. The Battlehawks did a great job of best the high school team they played last Friday. Let’s see how Wilkins does against a weaker than last year’s Brahmas squad. Everyone is talking about the Battlehawks being the squad, but all they did was sign a bunch of former NFL players who they cut. Kudos to them for having the chops to cut these players, but why sign them in the forst place? Did they miss on that many?