XFL 2020 season

[dd]

They mentioned the cfl everytime they talk about trestman, they did it again today and commented how the cfl uses a 20 seconds play clock so the game up there is faster than the xfl.

[Pigskin]

I actually saw that part of that game. I watched for about 10 minutes, very bad football.

[theaardvark]

The QB play is horrible... no touch on passes at all.  WR's constantly drop passes that hit them in the hands, and I don't know how many missed tacvkles you see on running plays.  And forget bubble screens...

But the talent is balanced on wither side of the ball (ALL BAD) and the coaching obviously haven't had anywhere enough time to get the players ready.  Olines with any new players seem to be lost.

30k fans in Seattle watched, and seemed to be enjoying it, though...  might be more fans than saw all the AAFL games

Plus, with ABC, ESPN and FOX coverage... had to generate some revenue...

[theaardvark]

Mic's in the face when you make a play, good or bad, is kinda cruel on the players.  Watching the NFL guys on the sidelines (Gurley) gushing over Spruce (who will be one of the guys that turns an XFL stint into an NFL deal) was kinda funny... but when they asked if he'd like the same coverage in the NFL, you could see there is no way he'd want it...

I get that they are trying to "add value" to the broadcast, to make sup par talent more watchable or compelling, but after McGloin blew up his OC live on TV, not sure how much any player is going to say beyond "Keep making plays, give 110%, gool Lord willing, we can win this game..."

The transparency in the video review is neat, and might catch on in CFL/NFL.  That may be the only thing to come out of this league...

[VictorRomano]

In other XFL news, a Beer Snake was spotted this weekend.

(fast forward to 9:52 for Beer Snake)

https://youtu.be/QoSATTDK_Cs

[bomber4life85]

Mic's in the face when you make a play, good or bad, is kinda cruel on the players.  Watching the NFL guys on the sidelines (Gurley) gushing over Spruce (who will be one of the guys that turns an XFL stint into an NFL deal) was kinda funny... but when they asked if he'd like the same coverage in the NFL, you could see there is no way he'd want it...

I get that they are trying to "add value" to the broadcast, to make sup par talent more watchable or compelling, but after McGloin blew up his OC live on TV, not sure how much any player is going to say beyond "Keep making plays, give 110%, gool Lord willing, we can win this game..."

The transparency in the video review is neat, and might catch on in CFL/NFL.  That may be the only thing to come out of this league...

the only thing I got out of watching was how mic heavy they are.. its almost annoying. And I was stunned with them being allowing at half time to go into the dressing rooms and have audio of the teams changing strategies and adjusting.. like.. what??!?? If NFL or CFL did that there would be such a huge issue from fans and players on that..

[TecnoGenius]

Weird, I'm enjoying the XFL a bit less than I did the AAF.  It seems more drab, more forced, less fun.  Not sure why.  The uniforms aren't nearly as good, that's for sure.

I like one thing: the DAL@SEA game 2Q7:16 Landry throws a pass, it gets deflected by a DL, bounces off a OL, and lands back in Landry's hands and he chucks it 15 yards downfield for a completion and 1st down.  I was wondering if that would happen with the "can pass twice behind LOS" rule.  Funny that it did so soon.

I don't like the XFL two-pass rule, but I do think that if a batdown gets the ball into the QB's hands again that he should be allowed to re-throw.  I hate how in the CFL/NFL a non-running QB basically just has to go down at that point vs try to make a play after making an amazing recovery like that!

The high scoring TB game this weekend was fairly fun.  News outlets are reporting viewership is way down (more than 50%) and attendance avg is only 1500 more per game than AAF at this juncture.

[theaardvark]

So, XFL ratings are plummeting, and they don't seem to be getting any traction in gate either. 

How long until McMahon pulls the plug?

[Sir Blue and Gold]

So, XFL ratings are plummeting, and they don't seem to be getting any traction in gate either. 

How long until McMahon pulls the plug?

Well... they're way down but so far seem somewhat sustainable as long as it doesn't continue to plummet. Here's the week 4 stats with some comparables:

XFL on Fox: 1.802 million viewers
XFL on ABC: 1.558 million viewers
NBA on ABC: 2.3 million viewers
NCAA on CBS: 1.9 million viewers
PGA on NBC: 1.7 million viewers
NCAA on Fox: 681k
MLS on Fox: 756k
NFL Combine on ABC: 976k

Keep in mind that week 1 of the CFL last year drew in about 2.4 million viewers. a little less than the XFL's week 4 and way down from their week 1 which kicked off with about 11 million viewers.

If you take a random week in the CFL, let's go with 2019 Week 15 you get about 1.3 million viewers. So a little less than half of the XFL's "terrible week".

2019 Week 15
Friday
Calgary at Toronto ? 321,600
Hamilton at Edmonton ? 487,600

Saturday
Winnipeg at Montreal ? 385,000
B.C. at Ottawa ? 314,700

[theaardvark]

Well... they're way down but so far seem somewhat sustainable as long as it doesn't continue to plummet. Here's the week 4 stats with some comparables:

XFL on Fox: 1.802 million viewers
XFL on ABC: 1.558 million viewers
NBA on ABC: 2.3 million viewers
NCAA on CBS: 1.9 million viewers
PGA on NBC: 1.7 million viewers
NCAA on Fox: 681k
MLS on Fox: 756k
NFL Combine on ABC: 976k

Keep in mind that week 1 of the CFL last year drew in about 2.4 million viewers. a little less than the XFL's week 4 and way down from their week 1 which kicked off with about 11 million viewers.

If you take a random week in the CFL, let's go with 2019 Week 15 you get about 1.3 million viewers. So a little less than half of the XFL's "terrible week".

2019 Week 15
Friday
Calgary at Toronto ? 321,600
Hamilton at Edmonton ? 487,600

Saturday
Winnipeg at Montreal ? 385,000
B.C. at Ottawa ? 314,700

But CFL vs. XFL numbers are based on demographics that are different by a factor of 10...

What about gate?  I get that the mid-season gate does suffer somewhat, but the novelty of the XFL seems to be waning quickly, and while they have TV contracts that the AAFL didn't, gate is still an important part of the business plan...

Week 1: 69,818

    Los Angeles Wildcats at Houston Roughnecks ? 17,815
    Seattle Dragons at DC Defenders ? 17,163
    Tampa Bay Vipers at New York Guardians ? 17,634
    St. Louis Battlehawks at Dallas Renegades ? 17,206

Week 2: 76,285

    New York Guardians at DC Defenders ? 15,031
    Tampa Bay Vipers at Seattle Dragons ? 29,172
    Dallas Renegades at LA Wildcats ? 14,979
    St. Louis Battlehawks at Houston Roughnecks ? 17,103

Week 3: 81,942

    Houston Roughnecks at Tampa Bay Vipers ? 18,117
    Dallas Renegades at Seattle Dragons ? 22,060
    New York Guardians at St. Louis BattleHawks ? 29,554
    DC Defenders at Los Angeles Wildcats ? 12,211

Week 4: 70,204

    Los Angeles Wildcats at New York Guardians ? 12,116
    Seattle Dragons at St. Louis Battlehawks ? 27,527
    Houston Roughnecks at Dallas Renegades ? 18,322
    DC Defenders at Tampa Bay Vipers ? 12,249

St. Louis seems to be the big draw... but they dropped 2k, Seattle was also big, but dropped 5k... Tamp dropped 6k...  so while the totals look like they aren't bad, when you look at the individual teams, they are all down game 2 over game 1, except Dallas, who went from 17,206 to 18,372...

[Blue In BC]

At the beginning of the XFL season all 4 games were televised. I channel surfed but tuned into parts of each game. In week 4 and now for week 5 it seems only 2 of the 4 games are being televised?

With 10 games and 8 teams there were only 40 games in total. It seems the actual live attendance and broadcasts are all fading quickly?

[Sir Blue and Gold]

You're right Aardvark. Those attendance numbers look like they are 20-35 percent lower than CFL, just estimating quickly. Is that a big problem? I don't know. Maybe? Do you know that it's a "big part of the business plan" for sure? Or are you just hoping? If it is, what is the number that each club needs to draw to be viable? I don't really know why these leagues work you up so much. Do you sleep better at night knowing that gosh darn it, the CFL is the only other thing out there besides the NFL?

[blue girl]

At the beginning of the XFL season all 4 games were televised. I channel surfed but tuned into parts of each game. In week 4 and now for week 5 it seems only 2 of the 4 games are being televised?

With 10 games and 8 teams there were only 40 games in total. It seems the actual live attendance and broadcasts are all fading quickly?

In Canada the games are either on TSN or streaming on tsn.ca.

[theaardvark]

You're right Aardvark. Those attendance numbers look like they are 20-35 percent lower than CFL, just estimating quickly. Is that a big problem? I don't know. Maybe? Do you know that it's a "big part of the business plan" for sure? Or are you just hoping? If it is, what is the number that each club needs to draw to be viable? I don't really know why these leagues work you up so much. Do you sleep better at night knowing that gosh darn it, the CFL is the only other thing out there besides the NFL?

Seriously, if you have something to add to the conversation other than trying to belittle my posts, jump in dude. 

I didn't say big part, I said important part.  If it wasn't, they'd be playing without a paid attendance, duh.  Does WWE rely only on pay per view revenue, or does gate enter into the business model.

As to what number it takes for each club to be viable, remember, there are no clubs.  The league has one owner for all clubs, either they all survive, or none do.  Might they move teams to more attractive locations?  Maybe.  But a team will not fail unless they all do.

The NFL is the league, and will garner the majority of the revenue for football, period.  The rest of the leagues, CFL, XFL, NCAA, semipro, etc, will fight over the scraps.  As a CFL fan, yes, I am concerned about a rival league vying for those dollars and players.  I'm not sure if I am happy if they fail, or if they are a good "feeder league" for us as well as the NFL...

[Blue In BC]

In Canada the games are either on TSN or streaming on tsn.ca.

In Vancouver if was on normal broadcast stations like ABC and TSN. However the Sunday games no longer are being broadcast here.