Week 3 UFL Matchup Between St. Louis Battlehawks and DC Defenders Reaches 1.4 Million Peak Viewers

While United Football League ratings and attendance have been the subject of much online discussion, the league’s most prominent rivalry delivered some big TV numbers (for a spring football league.) According to ESPN, an average of 967,000 viewers watched the Defenders’ 27-15 victory against the Battlehawks at The Dome at America’s Center.

The audience peaked at 1.4 million viewers, which was near the end of the game. The figure is particularly impressive because of what else was on alongside the game. The final round of The Masters was airing at that time on CBS and a Clippers/Warriors NBA game was on ESPN. 

While this is an impressive viewership number, other UFL games weren’t so lucky. According to Mike Mitchell on X, the Saturday afternoon Houston Roughnecks/Memphis Showboats matchup averaged just 295,000 viewers. Granted, this was an ESPN game, rather than a broadcast TV game, and aired right in the middle of moving day at The Masters. 

The league has a major opportunity for some key viewership victories this weekend, as all four games will air on broadcast television. For more details, visit my Week 3 recap article, which features the Week 4 schedule at the bottom.