The TV Ratings are in for the USFL 2022 Playoffs. The USFL saw an increase in viewership on both FOX and NBC this past weekend after the viewership numbers tailed off in the last several weeks. Overall, through the first ten weeks of the regular season, the USFL averaged 658,000 viewers, measuring in cable telecasts.

USFL 2022 Playoff TV Ratings On FOX/NBC

• Saturday’s 6/25 Northern Final playoff game on FOX between the New Jersey Generals and Philadelphia Stars averaged 957,000 viewers. The USFL’s previous two airings on FOX averaged 649,000 viewers (Week 10) and 742,000 viewers (Week 9).
• Saturday night’s 6/25 Southern Final playoff game on NBC between the Birmingham Stallions and New Orleans Breakers averaged 998,000 viewers. The USFL’s last primetime NBC game in Week 6 between Michigan and Birmingham averaged 1.196 million viewers.

Analysis: The expectation was that, by default, the USFL would see their viewership totals go up during the playoffs. Simply because of the importance attached and the fact that both telecasts would be on the league’s main broadcast networks, FOX/NBC. With the last matchup on in primetime.

21 USFL games aired on FOX/NBC during the ten-week regular season Counting the strong opening week numbers, the league averaged just over a million viewers per telecast on their two leading networks. (1,008,000). No one could reasonably expect the USFL to match their opening week sample numbers on FOX (1.75 million) or NBC (2.15 million). But like any sports entity, playoff time is when you want to peak.

So it’s positive to see an uptick in viewership during the USFL playoffs. It would have been alarming if the numbers were worse. Your playoff viewership figures are typically a telltale sign of interest. It’s the equivalent of a TV show nearing its season finale. Most leagues’ viewership levels climax during the playoffs. Perhaps, the upward movement can also happen in the USFL championship game this coming Saturday evening on FOX.

In the “that’s not really news department,” The USFL is returning in 2023. FOX had a weekly Spring Pro Football League complete its season, playoffs, and championship on its network in July of 2021. The barebones financial model of the 2022 USFL ensured they would be back for year three of this outfit.

The current numbers are important, but in the grand scheme, how the centralized one-city outfit transitions to becoming a fully-fledged pro football league in markets will determine the league’s long-term success. In theory, the move into markets could help improve overall league interest and viewership.