ESPN's coverage of the 2026 UFL regular season culminated last weekend, setting the stage for the UFL playoffs to begin on ABC on Sunday, June 7, at 3 p.m. ET, as the defending UFL champion DC Defenders take on the Orlando Storm in their inaugural UFL season. ABC's presentation of the United Bowl will follow on Saturday, June 13, also at 3 p.m.

UFL on ESPN regular season viewership

The 10-week regular season, featuring 20 games across ESPN networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes & NFL Network), saw a significant year-over-year increase of 8% from the 2025 regular season, averaging 686K viewers.

ESPN Networks also accounted for nine of the top 10 most-watched games this season, including three games that averaged more than 1M viewers (featuring matchups from Weeks 6, 9 & 3).

ABC alone accounted for eight of the top 10 most-watched games. ABC's 10-game regular season slate was up 14% vs. its 10-game schedule in 2025, averaging 941K viewers.

UFL playoffs & United Bowl on ABC

More details on ESPN's UFL postseason coverage, including ABC's presentation of the United Bowl, will be announced later this week.

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Media Contacts: Michael Skarka ([email protected]) | Danny Chi ([email protected])

Source: ESPN