This weekend, ESPN and Fox Sports will each be broadcasting two games from the UFL, a league formed from the former USFL and XFL. The games include the Birmingham Stallions vs. Arlington Renegades, St. Louis Battlehawks vs. Michigan Panthers, D.C. Defenders vs. San Antonio Brahmas, and Memphis Showboats vs. Houston Roughnecks, with some games airing on ABC throughout the season. The hope is that a combined league can help spring football take root with American sports fans after failed attempts in recent years. Bryan Jaroch, a coordinating producer at ESPN, notes that the merger allows for better athleticism, featuring the best that the predecessors had to offer.
Both ESPN and Fox Sports are aiming to attract a younger audience with their UFL coverage, offering more video and audio access to players, coaches, and officials, as well as sports-betting updates. With Fox previously broadcasting USFL games in conjunction with NBC and ESPN spotlighting XFL matchups on Disney’s FX cable network, the two networks will now have to work more closely together to cover the UFL games. Unique views of the action will be offered by Fox, including cameras in pylons, drones, and on players’ helmets and referees’ hats.
Past attempts at launching a sustainable NFL counterpart have faced challenges, with the Alliance of American Football collapsing under shaky finances and the XFL being halted by the coronavirus pandemic and bankruptcy. Fox is a co-owner of the combined UFL, while Vince McMahon initially backed the XFL before RedBird Capital and Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia attempted to revive the league with a new season. ESPN and Fox Sports are also partners in a new streaming-video joint venture expected to launch later this year, featuring all UFL games on a single platform.
Producers are looking to bring innovation to UFL coverage, introducing new camera angles and perspectives to give viewers a different experience. While the focus will be on providing access to players, coaches, and officials, there is an awareness of when this access may interfere with the game itself, such as when it distracts officials from their primary job of officiating the game. The UFL is not seen as a direct competitor to the NFL at this time, but could potentially vie for attention and sponsor dollars as the league grows.
With a focus on telling player stories to engage fans, producers aim to humanize and analyze the athletes through narratives of their quests to reach the NFL, desires to continue playing, and interactions with family. The goal is to help fans connect with the people playing in the new league games. The UFL may also serve as a feeder league or provide opportunities for players who want to extend their careers. By emphasizing storytelling and personal connections, ESPN and Fox Sports hope to create a more engaging viewing experience for fans and introduce them to the new league and its players.
