It’s not always bad news when ratings dip. It’s not good news, but it’s not bad news. That’s what the XFL should be telling themselves. In the “no duh” of breaking news, the XFL lost viewers from last week, but it’s not so black and white.
The — second really since the first iteration was years ago — inaugural Saturday of the XFL garnered almost 1.2 million fewer viewers than the first weekend of the second launch of the XFL — 3.3 million in Week 1 versus 2.12 in Week 2. There wasn’t as large of a dip on Sunday where Week 1 had 2.5 million viewers but only averaged 2.39 million viewers on ABC in Week 2. It’s important to point out that Week 1 was on ESPN and Week 2 was on ABC. If Week 2 was on ESPN, we probably would see a similar ratio drop closer to the Saturday numbers.
Now, here’s the real bright side: those numbers aren’t bad comparably. Sure, it’s not the NFL, but those numbers outrate a lot of marquee NBA games this season. They didn’t outrate the All-Star game, but it did get more viewers than big games that have happened this year. Everything needs to be judged comparably because nothing will ever hit the NFL. The fact that the XFL — with its weak quarterback play and general low scores — have outrated other professional sports options is a win.
Now, it’s time for the coaches to buy in on some of the excitement we were promised. It’s impossible to tell coaches what to do, but the XFL has been boring. There need to be double forward passes. Teams need to go for a three-point conversion. Run the option. Do something, anything to make it not just regular football with less talented players. That’s how the XFL sticks. Otherwise, we could see ratings dip a lot more until the playoffs hit.