ARLINGTON, TX, June 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ARLINGTON, TX – June 27, 2024 – The United Football League officially completed its inaugural season on June 16, as the Birmingham Stallions defeated the San Antonio Brahmas in the UFL Championship Game to become three-time defending spring football champions.
The season was highlighted by extraordinary action on the field, groundbreaking television broadcasts, significant social media interactions, and strong corporate partner support.
The League’s inaugural season exceeded expectations, building on the legacies of both the USFL and XFL brands. For 2025, the focus remains on continued execution and innovation, both on and off the field, to benefit players, fans, viewers, and corporate partners.
“With our first championship in the books, the UFL has clearly made its mark in the spring sports calendar with strong viewership across platforms all season long. The high-level, quality football on the field paired with our innovative production and content distribution approach has been a winning combination for football fans,” said Russ Brandon, President and CEO, United Football League.
Brandon continued, “The UFL has had consistently high levels of engagement throughout the season, which serves as proof of concept, confirming the undeniable demand for spring football. We appreciate the support we've received from our players, league and team-level employees, partners, and fans. With a robust foundation in place, we are poised to continue our growth trajectory as we look ahead to 2025 and beyond.”
2024 Full Season Highlights:
BROADCAST VIEWERSHIP
| Full Season ·The UFL reached 32 million unique viewers (per Nielsen data) ·The 2024 UFL season averaged 850K total viewers per game ·+34% increase over the 2023 XFL/USFL combined season averages (635K) ·Network broadcasts averaged 945,000 viewers through the championship game, up over 9% against the 2023 XFL/USFL combined season broadcast averages (864K) ·Cable telecasts averaged 630,000 viewers, up 43% against the 2023 XFL and USFL combined season cable averages (441K) ·Viewership for UFL Today, ESPN’s weekly digital post-game show was up 20% vs. 2023 across YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN App. | Championship Game ·The UFL Championship game averaged 1,596,000 viewers on FOX. ·Up 23% over last year’s average of 1,298,000 viewers for the respective XFL and USFL Championship games on ABC and NBC. ·Telecast peaked with 1,723,000 viewers from 6:15-6:30pm. ·Best performance for a UFL game on any network. ·Within the markets of the participating teams, the Championship game delivered a 6.8 rating/19 share and 3.6 rating/15 share in Birmingham and San Antonio, respectively |
| Viewership Demographic Increases (vs XFL/USFL combined season average): | |
| ·P2+: +35% ·Adults 18-49: +36% o Female +43% o Male +33% | ·Adults 18-34: +36% o Female +47% o Male +29% |
SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
| Total Views ·283M views across all social platforms o Instagram: 136M o Facebook: 51M o TikTok: 62M o X: 34M ·Total views for the season beat out total views for the 2022/2023 USFL season and the 2023 XFL season by 100 million+ views. ·UFL content across ESPN social channels was up 34% vs. 2023. | Followers ·4.13M Total Social Media followers:
·465K new followers gained since the start of the season.
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UFL DIGITAL PLATFORMS
| UFL App ·Launched on March 19, the app now has 106K active users and 7.3M screen views. | UFL Website ·Launched on December 31, 2023, theufl.com has 4M users and 12M screen views. |
ATTENDANCE
| ·Over 580K fans attended UFL games. ·St. Louis set the attendance record for a modern spring football league game with 40,317 at The Dome at America’s Center on April 6. |
FOOTBALL HIGHLIGHTS
| Gameplay Metrics ·93.3% kickoff return rate. ·Average starting field position is the 36.5-yard line. ·Average of 43.2 points per game. ·Jake Bates' 64-yard field goal set a spring football record and is two yards short of the NFL record of 66 yards by Justin Tucker | UFL to NFL ·The UFL has quickly become the place for players looking to fulfill their dreams of playing in or returning to the NFL ·12 players signed to NFL contracts as of June 26 |
INNOVATION
| The UFL’s use of cutting-edge technology is breaking new ground in broadcast and game operations to lead the game into the future. ·TrU LINE virtual line to gain: ·Replaced the chain gain with 4K optical cameras that use machine learning to determine the exact measurement for line to gain based off where the ball is spotted ·Portable 4K cameras that detect the exact location of the ball, relative to the line to gain, whenever referees request a spot via their wireless headsets | ·Elevated coach-to-player communications allowed teams to have up to eight players equipped with a helmet module allowing them to hear the offensive or defensive playcaller ·Supported full motion live sideline video with Apple IPADs and DVSport Rewind technology allowing coaches and players to make instant in game adjustments ·Mindfly body armor camera used by UFL officials ·ActionStreamer helmet cam used by UFL players |
CORPORATE PARTNERS
| In its inaugural season, the UFL announced a groundbreaking, exclusive partnership with The United States Army as the Presenting Partner. The two organizations collaborated on leadership development initiatives, community engagement events, and increasing awareness of the opportunities the Army and UFL offer young leaders and athletes to create the future they want. | The UFL also received robust corporate support during its inaugural season from both emerging and well-established brands eager to grow with the league. ·Gatorade ·Molson Coors ·Under Armour ·Verizon ·Big Game ·Westgate Resorts ·Progressive Insurance ·ZOA ·CBD Kratom ·Teremana ·FedEx ·MSX ·Underdog Fantasy ·Henry Schein ·Missouri Tourism |
About the United Football League
The United Football League (UFL) is the premier spring football platform, formed by the merging of the XFL and USFL in 2024 under the combined ownership of RedBird Capital Partners, FOX, Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson. The UFL has eight teams in Arlington (TX), Birmingham (AL), Detroit (MI), Houston (TX), San Antonio (TX), Memphis (TN), St. Louis (MO), and Washington D.C.
UFL Media Contacts
Jeff Altstadter, VP, Communications
Jeff.altstadter@theufl.com
973-908-9991
Bianca Gamez, Director of Communications
bianca.gamez@theufl.com
