Josh H

From http://www.espn.com

Ratings drop from 2.9 share to 2.7

NEW YORK – The XFL's TV rating declined for the fourth straight week, although less dramatically than the free fall the new league had experienced since it began play last month.

NBC, which co-owns the league with the World Wrestling Federation, got a 2.7 overnight rating and a 5 share for Saturday night's telecast of the game between the Los Angeles Xtreme and the New York/New Jersey Hitmen.

A week earlier, when the Hitmen played Chicago, the game drew a 2.9 overnight and a 5 share. That was a drop of 24 percent in the rating from the previous week.

Overnight ratings are based on 49 major markets. Full national ratings are not yet available.

The league debuted last month with an overnight rating of 10.3, then dropped to 5.1, 3.8 and 2.9 in the succeeding weeks.

The rating is the percentage of TV households in the United States watching a broadcast, and the share is the percentage tuned to a telecast among those TV households with sets in use at the time.

The game Feb. 24 between New York/New Jersey and Chicago had the second-lowest audience ever for a primetime sports program, drawing a 2.6 national rating and a 5 share. That was down from the previous week's 3.1 rating and 6 share.

The lowest-rated sports primetime program was Game 3 of the 2000 Stanley Cup finals on ABC, which had a 2.3 national rating and a 5 share

Wormwood

My dad says he loves the XFL, he's gonna be pissed when its cancelled.

djones6746

People were whining because these games are aired on Saturday nights!!!! Even if they were on any other night of the week.....the XFL still would not do well enough to save their butts!!! They would pick up a few more viewers across the country in different cities but not enough to make NBC say...hey let's give them a shot next year on our station.

seven

I personally like it OK. I was glad it came on Saturdays as there wasn't ever anything to watch Sat. nights before. I noticed it's coming on Fox tonight at 11:00. Has fox been broadcasting games before? I also noticed it's not on UPN tonight.

7

McHawkson

Another USFL victim. Remember few years ago when they bring USFL during the Spring time and it was killed within 5 years. So, I assume that XFL will fall in same fate with USFL.

Jeremy517

The football is actually getting better. People just weren't expecting "real" football.

Adboy151

ESPN was reporting that the XFL wants to draft high school players who don't get college scholarships straight out of school.

Now they're cannibalizing the rest of their viewing audience.

Bust

I don't know where you're watching at but it's on UPN here in Pittsburgh and FOX has been Simpsons, Malcolm, and Lone Gunmen.

darkside

I guess the good news is it can't drop much lower than that. Even paint drying should draw a 2.5 on national TV.

clemente

Nikki can't draw a 2.5.

Lowest rated primetime sports ever was 2000 NHL playoffs at 2.3

I think the XFL is primed to challenge that pretty soon, maybe not next week, but by seasons end.

JohnPhoenix

He might be thinking of UPN... which where I live cross-promotes their station on FOX.

seven

Nope, I'm watching "The XFL on UPN" on Fox. UPN is showing NYPD Blue. How weird.

7

namja

They're still showing way too much football. I thought the XFL was about the cheerleaders, with an occasional shot of football ...

KrackerBox

wait... those were cheerleaders?

Gonnosuke

I think the fact that there is too much football is why the ratings have dropped. People were expecting a lot of T&A and over-the-top on field drama.

-Gonnosuke

Josh H

Exactly, but instead the decided to try and get wrestling fans to watch a real sport.

eXcentris

You guys don't get it at all. The XFL is like Survivor but in reverse. The last remaining viewer will win 1 million dollars.

Deftones

you stole that off of conan o'brien!

eXcentris

Yeah but it's still funny

criptik28

I think I read that NBC is sticking with the XFL, no matter how bad the ratings get. Isn't NBC contractually obligated to broadcast XFL games for the next 2 (or is it 5?) years?

CPA-ESQ.

What do they expect: One of the biggest markets in the nation (New York metro area) has the worst team!! I watch the $hitmen when they are on, but they suck so bad

thejammy

Personally, I very early to jump on and I got season tickets, Yes the NY Team has the worst lineup. The backup QB is better than the Starter.

Then if you have to put in the fact that that Feburary season is one cold S.O.B even for NY standards. It gets cold out there, and colder on the field.

For anyone who says that is not real football, you go and play a night game in 20 degree weather and get tackled into a frozen ground. That is extreme enough for me.

I wish NY had a better team. But hey it is the first season, I don't know what people expected, I just wanted to see some football at a huge staduim, and only had to pay about 25 dollars a game.

That is a bargain if you ask me, so what you freeze your ass off, but it is football all in all.

As my friend says, these are collegiate,ex-pro,and people who wanted to play pro and couldn't make it.

IT is as real as it gets.

As for the cheerleaders in NY they are good looking but they don't show much as the others do in the nicer weather.



OH well, 125 well spent in my case. Hope it comes back next year. I would go again.

Jackskeleton

NBC is going to stick with it for the two years... WWF wants to dump its load already?

Well i personally like the L.A. games so far. i paid for a season ticket, and it is well worth it to see football in los angeles again.. the games rock!!

clemente

This weekend, live Halftime Cheerleader locker room cam's.

I am serious. They have these commercials running in Chicago which basically say "The rating's suck, we know it, so guess what, cheerleader cam, and some new rules to allow more scoring."

Pretty funny commercials actually.

Jackskeleton

You have to wonder why they are announcing that its a desperate attempt to get ratings.