Vince McMahon’s football league (XFL) announces multi-year TV deal with ESPN and Fox sports. Here are the details from the Vince McMahon interview earlier this morning.
Vince McMahon has been trying to revive his failed football league for quite some time now. The WWE chairman today announced that the XFL will air weekly on broadcast TV (ABC and FOX) and on cable (ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 and FS2) starting with its inaugural 2020 season.
“We are thrilled to partner with ESPN and FOX Sports, two innovative media companies with extensive experience in world-class football production that will undoubtedly help us reimagine football,” said Vince McMahon, XFL Founder & Chairman. “The XFL broadcast schedule provides us with incredible reach and makes it easy for fans to watch our games consistently every weekend.”
We’re excited to reimagine football and partner with @ABCNetwork, @ESPN and @FOXSports. #XFL2020https://t.co/AGynWgqtj6
— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) May 6, 2019
According to the deal, 24 of the XFL’s 43 games will be on broadcast TV (13 on ABC; 11 on Fox), including two Thursday primetime games on Fox in April ’20.
The networks are not paying a rights fee but they will pick up production costs. Both the networks will sell ads around the games and the XFL will handle sponsorship at the venue. ESPN and FOX will hold the right to stream games and they will cross promote games during broadcasts.
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The XFL is a professional American football league that Vince had earlier launched in 2001 in a joint venture with NBC. The league folded after it’s inaugural season following poor viewership.
With FOX and Disney by his side, Vince’s XFL looks like a winning combination this time. Only time will tell if Vince’s most ambitious project since Wrestlemania 1, finds its wings this time.
The XFL will kick off on Saturday, February 8, 2020 with teams in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay and Washington D.C.
