The UFL’s 2025 Championship is in the books, with the DC Defenders taking down the Michigan Panthers on Saturday night, 58-34. It was an exciting affair for the league’s second championship game, which was aired on ABC.
Unfortunately, though, the TV Ratings did not live up to the hype of the game itself. According to Mike Mitchell, the UFL’s 2025 Championship averaged just 983,000 viewers.
This is by far the lowest rating for any of the Championship games over the past few years. The previous lowest number was the USFL’s 2023 Championship on NBC, which averaged 1.2M.
ABC has only had one Championship game prior, with the XFL’s 2023 outing averaging 1.436M viewers for Arlington vs. DC that year.
It is rather disappointing to see the UFL feature just 983,000 in viewership – especially on a channel such as ABC, which has been one of their strongest networks this season. ABC carried the TV ratings throughout most of the year. Not to mention, the game wasn’t up against the NBA Finals, which has been their biggest competition. They did compete with the MLB and the Stanley Cup, with overlapping games during that time frame.
On top of the lower rating – attendance in St. Louis was much lower this time around compared to a season ago. In 2024, the league reported over 27,000 tickets distributed for the Championship. This time around, it was just over 14,000 – and that difference was clearly visible on TV.
As the UFL heads into this offseason, there will be plenty of questions that need answers. TV ratings and attendance – two of the key tenants to this league and its potential success – both trended downwards in 2025. This was capped off by a Championship game that featured an uptick in scoring, yet saw viewership down by 38.4%, and attendance nearly severed in half.
For the league front office and executives, tough decisions will have to be made in moving forward with a product that can prove that it will be sustainable, and attract more investors in the near future.
What are your thoughts on the UFL TV Ratings from the Championship this year? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
