The UFL playoffs are in the rearview mirror, with the Championship as the only game left. This weekend’s slate featured some of the league’s best going at it – and the TV ratings show that people were more inclined to tune into these matchups, than they were for most of the season.
Birmingham vs. Michigan (ABC): 1.1M
St. Louis vs. DC (FOX): 873,000
Right off the bat, ABC’s number is encouraging to see. It’s the most watched game on ABC the entire UFL season, and is the second highest number we’ve seen throughout the year on FOX and ABC networks.
Funny enough, this TV rating is the exact same as last year’s USFL Conference Championship – which also featured Birmingham and Michigan going at it. This time, it was the Michigan Panthers who were able to punch their ticket to the UFL Championship, taking down the Stallions in an exciting afternoon affair.
On FOX’s side of things, they saw a major dip in their playoff matchup. Last year, St. Louis vs. San Antonio averaged 1,274,000 viewers. This season’s affair between St. Louis and DC – which saw another Battlehawks playoff loss unfold – averaged just 873,000.
There was the overlap of the NBA finals to take into account, which started at 8pm ET – averaging 8.7M in viewership. Also, STL vs. DC was kicked back to 6:20pm ET, after it was supposed to start at 6pm. The game itself was a blowout, with DC establishing dominance early on and never relenting – winning 36-18 on the road.
Sunday's XFL Conference Championship between the @XFLBattlehawks & @XFLDefenders on @FOXSports averaged 873,000 viewers.
Down from 1.274M on FOX last season, for STL vs. SA.
It did have competition from game two of the NBA finals, during the second half. #UFL https://t.co/bKMmqd7Cav pic.twitter.com/X58yQs4vHA
— James Larsen (@JamesLarsenPFN) June 10, 2025
We’ve seen a decline in UFL viewership this season – especially on FOX. Their numbers have dipped, with the exception of a week 9 matchup between Houston and DC which had an incredible lead-in from Indy Car.
That said, the playoffs always bring an extra group of eyeballs – and that’s exactly what happened this weekend. Last year’s UFL Championship averaged 1.57M on FOX – so we’ll see how ABC fares as they will host this year’s finale on Saturday night.
What are your thoughts on UFL TV Ratings from the playoffs? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
