The United Football League has had a pretty good off season. After a PR disaster at the end of their second season, this league is getting all of its ducks in a row and getting ready to make a big splash in 2011. That splash could be a lot bigger if the NFL labor mess drags on into the fall, but the upstart league is getting ready to announce a new TV deal. Following the hiring on Jerry Glanville and Marty Schottenheimer, and a very successful player draft that utilized social media to bring in fans, this league is now set to announce its new TV deal.
They are planning to offer at least some of their games in 3D and that rules out a lot of the little cable network. Versus, Spike TV, and the like are not what this league needs anyway and cannot broadcast in 3D. The big player out there that can is ESPN, and that would be a huge win for this league. Finally they would get their product in front of a large number of eyes, and I believe once people start watching they will get hooked on this league like the minority of us that have already found it.
Versus and HD Net got their games on the air in the first two years, but they did not deliver a broad enough audience. Having games on ESPN, like the USFL had in the early 1980’s, would be a huge step forward for this league. Of course ESPN has previously treaded very carefully when doing things that might anger the folks at the NFL. I am of course talking about the cancellation of the show Playmakers, so a different partner may be in play here.
Related Links:
- The Business of the UFL
- Joshua Lobdell.com