The UFL crossed the 1 million viewer mark for the first time in the 2026 season. The Birmingham Stallions at St. Louis Battlehawks game on ABC averaged 1.01 million viewers on Sunday afternoon, per ESPN PR. It was the highest-rated game of the season through three weeks.
That game anchored an ABC doubleheader that averaged 991,000 viewers across both windows. The full Week 3 slate on the ESPN platform — Saturday's ESPN game and both Sunday ABC games — averaged 880,000 viewers, up 32% from the same three-game window in 2025.
Week 3 Game-by-Game Viewership
Here is the full breakdown for all four Week 3 games:
Friday, April 10: Orlando Storm at Louisville Kings (FOX, 8 PM ET) — 671,000 viewers
Saturday, April 11: Houston Gamblers at DC Defenders (ESPN, noon ET) — ~658,000 viewers
Sunday, April 12: Columbus Aviators at Dallas Renegades (ABC, noon ET) — ~972,000 viewers
Sunday, April 12: Birmingham Stallions at St. Louis Battlehawks (ABC, 3 PM ET) — 1,010,000 viewers
The estimated figures for the ESPN and ABC noon games are calculated from the reported averages. The ABC doubleheader averaged 991,000, with the Stallions-Battlehawks game confirmed at 1.01 million. The ESPN platform three-game average was 880,000.
The Week 3 four-game average comes in at approximately 828,000 viewers. That number sits above both the 2025 full-season average of 669,000 and the 2024 regular season average of 816,000.
Year-Over-Year Comparison: 2026 vs. 2025 Week 3
The ABC doubleheader was up 17% from the 2025 Week 3 ABC doubleheader. The full ESPN platform slate was up 32% from the 2025 three-game window.
In 2025, Week 3 viewership looked like this:
Friday: Arlington at Birmingham (FOX) — 682,000 viewers
Saturday: Houston at Memphis (ESPN) — 295,000 viewers
Sunday: Michigan at San Antonio (ABC) — 719,000 viewers
Sunday: DC at St. Louis (ABC) — 967,000 viewers (1.4 million peak)
The 2025 Week 3 overall average was 665,000 viewers. The 2026 Week 3 average of ~828,000 represents a 24% increase.
FOX Friday Holds Steady
The Friday night FOX game between Orlando and Louisville drew 671,000 viewers, per Programming Insider. That number is down slightly from the 2025 Week 3 FOX game (Arlington-Birmingham, 682,000 viewers) but sits above the 2025 FOX UFL Friday season average of 613,000 viewers.
Friday night on FOX remains a question mark for the UFL. The league averaged 613,000 viewers in the Friday timeslot across 10 games in 2025. The 671,000 Week 3 number is a step in the right direction, but the gap between Friday and Sunday ABC viewership remains wide.
St. Louis Continues to Drive Ratings
St. Louis games have been a consistent ratings draw for the UFL. In 2025, the highest-rated regular season game was DC at St. Louis in Week 3 on ABC (967,000 viewers, 1.4 million peak). This year, Birmingham at St. Louis topped that mark at 1.01 million.
The Battlehawks' comeback victory gave ABC viewers a reason to stay tuned through the final whistle. Backup quarterback Harrison Frost replaced Brandon Silvers in the second half and threw three fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally St. Louis to a 34-30 win.
Nielsen Methodology Context
All 2026 viewership data uses Nielsen's Big Data + Panel measurement system, which went into effect in 2025. This system combines traditional panel data with data from smart TVs and set-top boxes.
The shift has generally boosted live sports numbers across the board. The NFL saw a roughly 10% increase under the new system. The NHL on ESPN was up 40% in its first four months. Sports Media Watch has noted that year-over-year comparisons involving pre-Big Data seasons are less direct as a result.
The 2025 and 2026 UFL seasons both fall under Big Data + Panel, so the year-over-year comparisons in this article are measured on the same system.
What's Ahead in Week 4
Week 4 features a Thursday night game on the NFL Network (Louisville at Houston). Friday's game sends Dallas to Columbus on FOX. Saturday has two games: St. Louis at DC on ABC at 12:30 PM ET, and Orlando at Birmingham on FOX at 4:00 PM ET.
The UFL has 40 regular season games scheduled through May 31, followed by playoffs on June 7 and the championship game on June 13 at 3:00 PM ET on ABC.