XFL's Days Appear Numbered

Without Ratings Spike, NBC Seems Ready To Pull The Plug

WASHINGTON, 11:26 a.m. EST March 26, 2001 -- It seems that NBC is having second thoughts about the XFL.

Brass at the network are pondering pulling the plug on the upstart professional football league that NBC helped finance and to which it gives primetime airtime.

Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC sports, told the Washington Post that ratings are so dismal that, without an upswing in viewers as the league enters its first playoffs next month, the league could be sacked.

Ebersol stressed that the network wants to see the World Wrestling Federation offshoot succeed, but without better ratings there is little choice but to cancel the league from NBC.

"We have a two-year commitment … but (the XFL) has to show a marked swing in the ratings in the postseason for it to have a real shot beyond this year, just from an advertising standpoint," Ebersol told the newspaper.

NBC had hooked up with WWF whiz Vince McMahon to spawn the low-budget league which tried to use glitzy extra-curriculars to buttress the less-than-stellar on-the-field action to draw principally young men to NBC on Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

In addition to airing the program in prime time and providing on-air promotion, NBC reportedly tossed $100 million into the league.

Even before play, the league drew strong national media attention, particularly with the hiring of former pro wrestler and current Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura as a color commentator.

After a successful first week in the ratings -- including winning the Saturday evening time slot -- viewers apparently didn't like what they saw. Ratings were cut in half the second week and a viewership free-fall began after that.

Finally, last weekend's games made history, but for a dubious reason: The league's 1.6 TV rating for Saturday night's game tied for the lowest-ever rating by a primetime show on any of the "Big Three" networks.

Even before that broadcast, hints were flying that the league may drop Ventura as a commentator.

The Post said it couldn't reach McMahon for a comment, but in a recent interview the controversial figure said the league could survive another year without a national TV contract, but not much longer after that.

Read the entire Post article.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]