Through three weeks, the UFL TV audience was down by a third in comparison to 2024

The UFL has launched the fourth week of its 2025 season. The first three weeks haven't gone as well as they did a year ago.

Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal recently noted that the total TV audience is down by 33 percent in comparison to 2024.

No game has drawn at least 1 million viewers. The per-game average through 12 total broadcasts is 604,000.

The only good news, if it can be called that, is that Week 3 represented a 20-percent bump over Week 2. However, Week 3 was still down 15 percent in comparison to 2024.

The owners of the UFL, Fox Sports and RedBird Capital, have insisted that they're in it for the long haul. And it could simply be a matter of time before spring football fully finds a firmer footing.

Besides, 604,000 isn't a bad average for a three-hour window at a time when plenty of other sports are on TV. If the costs are low and if the audiences that are being attracted to the UFL are helping to generate sufficient revenue, it can be viable.

The goal isn't just to survive. It's to thrive. And the second year of the UFL has, so far, represented a step back from the first. That said, the XFL, USFL, and UFL have managed to create a consistent presence for four years now. As spring football goes, that's the exception not the rule.