The Alliance of American Football generated some strong TV ratings Saturday night on CBS.
According to TVByTheNumbers, nearly 3.2 million people watched the pregame and 2.91 million stuck with the broadcast for the actual action between the Orlando Apollos vs. Atlanta Legends and the San Antonio Commanders vs. San Diego Fleet.
The only show to draw better numbers all night on broadcast TV was “America’s Got Talent.”
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If you’re involved with the AAF, you’re extremely happy with these numbers. Nobody was sure how this league would be received, but being the second watched show of the night is pretty good proof that people want football around the clock. (RELATED: San Diego Fleet Quarterback Mike Bercovici Suffers Brutal Hit During AAF Opener)
Now, were these numbers even close to what an NFL game could get in primetime? No, but they’re still strong.
You obviously can’t expect NFL numbers on day one. That would be insane. The AAF should still be very happy with what it did last night.
Only time will tell if the league will stick around or work well over time. We can’t tell anything about that after only one night featuring two games.
However, I like the AAF’s odds, especially if they keep bringing big hits.
The pro football league The AAF has officially started, and a QB almost got beheaded in the first game. pic.twitter.com/bL6e6Y78Uz
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) February 10, 2019