data-mm-id=”_pps6mnqre”>On Saturday, May 13, the Arlington Renegades defeated the DC Defenders in the XFL Championship Game to cap off the league's first season under the patronage of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and in partnership with ESPN. To be able to finish the season at all made the league a success after the previous iteration collapsed before reaching the playoffs thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, but the XFL and ESPN should feel great about 2023 through pretty much every lens. Everything went off largely without a hitch, the talent pool was solid, the new rules made the game interesting, and most importantly, the league's ability to draw eyeballs was about what was expected. The 2023 XFL season was bookended by two significant viewership events. The season debut in February, broadcast on ABC, averaged 1.3 million viewers and boasted the highest-watched game of the year at 1.6 million viewers. The championship game in May (also broadcast on ABC) averaged 1.4 million and peaked in the last 15 minutes of the contest at 1.8 million. Those numbers are important, not because they are gigantic — although they are definitely good for a sports league in its first season featuring players that aren't famous. Instead, they are important because it suggests interest was more or less sustained over the three-month season. As previously observed on this website after the Week 3, the biggest fight the XFL has is to keep audience interest. There is very little loyalty to any of the teams even in the markets they reside in because they're new. There are a few players out there who were good enough in college to be draws on their own but no one name is moving the needle for the league. The level of play needs to be high, the game needs to be similar but a little different, and the promotion needs to be consistent in order for the XFL to succeed in its early days. Those three boxes appear to have been checked. The XFL wasn't a ratings monster, of course. Once the broadcast moved off ABC to ESPN2, viewership dropped like a rock for a few weeks before steadying out. All-in-all the regular-season audience on ESPN2 averaged out at 647,000 viewers across 40 games. There were tough weeks, like Week 5, which went up against March Madness and suffered as a result. But it was never realistic to expect the XFL to compete with bigger, more established sporting events. The opportunity this year was the weeks in between those events, where the only competition was regular-season basketball or the start of baseball season. That is why the season kicked off after the Super Bowl — to fill the football-sized gap in the audience and whet the insatiable American appetite for the sport while the NFL rested. An ESPN spokeswoman told The Big Lead that the 2023 XFL season met the network's expectations. They felt the campaign showcased a high quality of play, as evidenced by nearly two dozen XFL players (and counting) signing with various NFL teams over the last week. From a fan experience perspective, the network said it looks forward to working with the XFL on the gameday experience for next season, and the innovation from the production crew made for a tremendous viewing experience. The 2023 season represents an ideal foundation for the XFL. Baseline viewership fluctuated to start but settled into a rhythm as the season went on and the championship game delivered the audience expected. There is still a ways to go before the league is a true pipeline to the NFL for late bloomers, but professional teams are obviously watching the games. And it can be used as an experimenting ground of sorts for ESPN's production team to try out things they would prefer not to debut on a Monday Night Football broadcast. It would not be a surprise if some aspects of the XFL broadcast from this spring ended up in an NFL broadcast come September. The goals for next year will be twofold: to continue to steady out viewership and keep attracting as much talent as possible. Those objectives are related. The XFL will never reach NFL levels of television audience because literally no program on television can match the NFL in that department, but the numbers from this year suggest there is a space for it to exist and thrive. If football is on TV and it is competitive, a bit different but not too gimmicky, then people will watch. More people will watch the NFL Draft and Furman upset Virginia, but enough will watch the XFL to give it life. So far, so good. Both for ESPN and the XFL.
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The Argentine forward, who became Cardiff s record signing last week after agreeing a move from Nantes in Ligue 1, was aboard a plane that disappeared on its way to the Welsh capital on Monday.
Thursday saw the start of a third day of searching for the missing aircraft and Guernsey Police confirmed that efforts have been resumed using a Channel Islands Air Search plane.
Manchester United interim boss Solskjaer, who managed Cardiff for a brief spell in 2014, is hoping there will soon be some good news.
It s tragic news and you know when you wake up you hope to read the news that there is some good news, but of course the more time …
Real Madrid attacker Mariano Diaz is desperate to play for Spain and switch his international allegiance from Dominican Republic.
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That appearance, a 3-1 win over Haiti in which he scored, was a friendly back in March 2013, meaning his international future is uncertain because he has not featured in a competitive match.
The 25-year-old Barcelona-born forward is yet to play for Madrid this term and failed to score in his three Ligue 1 appearances prior to the transfer, therefore a snub by Luis Enrique for Spain s recent games against England and Croatia was not a shock.
But Mariano n…
Javier Hernandez has completed his transfer from Bayer Leverkusen to West Ham in a deal worth £16million
The 29-year-old joins the Premier League club on a three-year deal after completing a medical and agreeing personal terms.
Mexico striker Hernandez scored 39 goals in two seasons with Leverkusen and becomes West Ham s fourth signing of the transfer window.
For me, the Premier League is the best league in the world and when the opportunity came, I was desperate to sign for this club, said the forward.
It was not a difficult decision. West Ham is an historic club, and very ambitious – this summer you can see with the players signed that they are looking to have a very good season.
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var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTag…
Liverpool made it 20 Premier League games unbeaten but were left frustrated after a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield.
First-half goals from Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane – his first ever strike against the Seagulls – were cancelled out by Enock Mwepu and Leandro Trossard.
With Chelsea claiming a dominant win over Newcastle United, Jurgen Klopp s men slipped three points off the pace at the summit.
The only negative in a bright start for the Reds was losing Naby Keita to injury after just 20 minutes. The Guinean appeared to be suffering from the same problem sustained in the incident that saw Paul Pogba sent off during last week s 5-0 win at Manchester United.
Graham Potter s side were ultimately well worth their p…
Prediction: Both Teams To Score and Aston Villa to Win
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A place in the Premier League is up for grabs as Aston Villa do battle with Derby County in the Championship playoff final at Wembley Stadium.
The two teams clash on what promises to be an entertaining afternoon on Bank Holiday Monday in the capital.
Aston Villa
Heading into the final itself, Dean Smith s Villa are the red-hot favourites. Having squeezed past local rivals West Bromwich Albion on penalties, the Villans now head into their second consecutive playoff final. They missed out last season as they lost to Fulham at Wembley and will hope to avoid a repeat this time around. However, their form since Smith arrived in the West Midlands has been stunning an aspect that…
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Rodrigo is also a Spain international having made his debut back in 2014, but it does seem like all of this talk is dependant on what happens next with Icardi.
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He would have to reflect on back-to-back losses against Crystal Palace and Leicester City and a damaged Premier League title defence for a little longer, but Pep Guardiola leaned mischievously forward on his desk and broke into a grin.
Speaking ahead of Sunday s restorative 3-1 win over Southampton, the Manchester City manager was asked whether the playing philosophy he was told would struggle under Premier League scrutiny – only to yield 100 points last term– might be due for a rethink during this mid-season turbulence.
Oh, I was waiting for that question, he said before adding, with a deliberate head shake: That is not going to happen.
No way. Why should I change? Because I lost two games? No way – that is not going to happen.
There had been a …
Serie A leaders Inter Milan ensured they would remain top of the table for another week with a 2-1 victory over Atalanta under heavy rain at Gewiss Stadium.
Though the hosts had the better early chances, it was Hakan Calhanoglu’s spot-kick that ultimately broke the deadlock for the league leaders, his 36th goal in the Italian top flight enough bring him level with Sukru Gulesin as Turkey’s all-time top scorer in the league.
Inter captain Lautaro Martinez extended his side’s advantage after the break before Gianluca Scamacca swiftly pulled one back.
Victory in Bergamo!
— Inter (@Inter_en)
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Santiago Solari said Gareth Bale helped define Saturday s derby after scoring his 100th Real Madrid goal against Atletico Madrid.
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Bale came off the bench and netted Madrid s third – his 100th goal in all competitions since arriving from Tottenham in 2013 for a then-record fee of €100million – against 10-man Atletico.
And Madrid head coach Solari praised Bale following reports the Wales international walked back to the dressing room on his own following the triumph.
Vamos!
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11)
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