After showing signs of potential growth in Week 6, the UFL’s TV ratings in Week 7 continued to show the same downward trend in interest the league has experienced in 2025. Particularly on FOX and on cable telecasts.
Going into Week 7 of the 2025 season, UFL TV ratings are down compared to the 2024 regular season. After the first six weeks of the 2025 season, the average UFL TV ratings are 612,000 viewers per game across FOX, ABC, ESPN, and FS1. The numbers reflect a 25% decrease from the 2024 regular season average of 816,000 viewers per game.
UFL 2025 Season: Week 7 TV Ratings On FOX, ESPN & ABC
A week after the UFL saw its viewership numbers stabilize with a Week 6 showing of St. Louis and Arlington, which generated 630,000 viewers. Week 7’s FOX Friday night UFL offering of DC versus San Antonio averaged 540,000 viewers. The peak viewership of 636k occurred during the game’s first fifteen minutes.
The latest number isn’t to the level of a season-low viewership of 467,000 in Week 5, which went head-to-head with the NFL Draft on multiple outlets, but it suggests an alarming dip as UFL games enter a pivotal stretch of the late season, where, in theory, the level of importance will peak interest among the loyal viewer base.
Saturday’s FOX UFL 5/9 broadcast featuring the Michigan Panthers and Arlington Renegades averaged 596,000 viewers.
Sunday’s UFL game block, Mother’s Day on ABC, saw better results than the league’s FOX broadcasts.
The Stallions’ thrilling comeback victory against the Roughnecks Sunday, 5/11 at Noon ET, averaged 956,000 viewers.
ABC’s Houston-Birmingham matchup is the second most-watched game this season, giving ABC the four most-watched UFL games of 2025. The game peaked from 2:45- 3 p.m. ET with 1.27M viewers.
Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis-Memphis matchup on ESPN at 3 ET didn’t fare as well, with direct NBA Playoffs competition. The Showboats-Battlehawks game averaged just 233,000 viewers.
The Week 7 TV Ratings average for the UFL 2025 season was 581 K. In Week 8, all four UFL games will air on over-the-air broadcast network television, with FOX broadcasting three. With just three weekends left in the UFL regular season, the league’s games have added meaning with playoff stakes involved, minus Friday’s showdown on FOX featuring two one-win squads in Memphis and San Antonio. That particular game may not be able to reverse a negative viewership trend for the UFL Friday nights on FOX.
The UFL’s viewership has decreased by over 26%, year over year, from last season.
With the league’s games gaining importance, the hope is that viewership will trend upward toward the league championship game, scheduled to air on ABC on Saturday night, June 14.
UFL Week 8 TV Schedule
- Friday, May 16th: Memphis Showboats vs. San Antonio Brahmas (8 p.m. ET, FOX)
- Saturday, May 17th:
- Birmingham Stallions vs. St. Louis Battlehawks (1 p.m. ET, FOX)
- Michigan Panthers vs. Houston Roughnecks (1 p.m. ET, FOX)
- Sunday, May 18th: Arlington Renegades vs. DC Defenders (noon ET, ABC)
3 Comments
by 4th&long
UFL schedule awareness is a big issue. There is a major issue in finding when & where weekly broadcast are on TV. ABC is a common channel for viewers to find. But Fox and ESPN are less so.
Didn’t seem to have this issue last year but why is the UFL 2025 hiding their weekly TV schedule? And switching from ESPN2 to ESPN was not well communicated, because it wasn’t communicated at all by the league.
The UFL main page should list the 4 weekly games date/time and network starting no later than Monday nights.
Their Facebook and “X” etc social media pages should be blasting the weekly schedule and be either pinned or the graphic on the top page.
And of of course local Fox affiliates as well as ABC should note them as well.
Last year the two networks cross promoted the league games more regardless of network, not so much this year other than game day.
Major miss by UFL, Russ is asleep at the wheel. DG is useless. Shake up needed.
by 4th&long
ABC nailing it fine
Fox underperforming for sure
ESPN failing
by Gary Winter
I agree with 4th and Long about the lack of promotion with the game broadcasts. Other small things that might be affecting viewership that might not be considered is that during this time of year youth baseball is a very big thing to a lot of people and other family oriented activities. Showing games at noon or mid-day are not great times for families. I spent Sunday watching my grandson play baseball in a tournament rather than watching the Battlehawks and Showboats.
In the Fall and especially Winter months, watching football in the early and late afternoons is great. in the Spring and Summer? Not as much. It seems that maybe putting on games in the late afternoon and early evenings might work better and be more convenient for the fans. After their family activities, going home and catching an entertaining game might just be the thing for many. I have no proof of this other than it would simply be more convenient for many people I know who did gave up their Season Tickets because they have kids playing sports of their own during these earlier Saturday and Sunday times.