The XFL returned for its third iteration in 2023. It likely did enough to have a second consecutive season for the first time ever.
Via Sports Business Journal, the XFL generated an average audience of 622,000 viewers for the 10-week 2023 regular season.
The bad news is that the numbers are down dramatically from 2020, a season shortened by the pandemic but that drew 1.87 million viewers on average.
In Week 10, XFL averaged 568,000, besting the USFL, which averaged 455,000 viewers. The XFL also beat the USFL in a pair of apples-to-apples network competitions over the past weekend.
The USFL saw a 42-percent slippage from Week One to Week Two of the second season of its second attempt at making a go of non-NFL football.
It remains to be seen whether one or both of these leagues can thrive over the long haul. The core question becomes whether the quest for football games on which to bet -- especially when real-time, play-by-play betting fully blooms -- will generate enough interest and revenue to justify the ongoing investment in spring football.