Vince McMahon’s resurrected XFL brand has announced its broadcast partners for the upcoming 2020 kickoff year. Those partners are ABC, ESPN, FOX Sports and FS1.
The announcement came on May 5, ending months of speculation as to where the renewed football league will be seen. Now football fans can watch the XFL’s games on nationally broadcast television.
The #XFL has four new homes.
Announcing our #XFL2020 broadcast partners:@ABCNetwork, @ESPN, @FoxSports & @FS1 📺
More info at https://t.co/hAlDLJuvRV. pic.twitter.com/YmBPhkTez5
— XFL (@XFL2023) May 6, 2019
This comes as no surprise to WWE fans of course, because of WWE’s relationship with ESPN, as well as SmackDown Live’s upcoming move to FOX. However, the XFL did not announce whether or not the games will be available on ESPN+, the network’s streaming service that currently also offers the UFC. WWE Network was also not included in the announcement, as Vince McMahon’s company made it clear from the beginning that this time around, both brands would be kept separate.
[lawrence-related id=896664]That was not the case in 2001 of course, when the XFL’s connection to WWE was maximized in order to gain viewers. The upstart football league featured WWE Hall of Famers Jim Ross, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Jesse Ventura, all of whom were constant reminders of the XFL’s pro wrestling roots.
The XFL’s 2020 return was announced in January of 2018, ending a long period of speculation among WWE fans, who believed it was only a matter of time until Vince decided to revive the failed football league. Charlie Ebersol’s 2017 ESPN documentary, This Was the XFL, created a buzz online that the McMahon family was indeed pondering a return to professional football.
Whether or not the XFL will work this time is anyone’s guess. The league promises a return to football’s roots, when the game was easy to follow, as well as easier to play. Much of that rhetoric was also delivered by The Alliance of American Football, which was spearheaded by Ebersol, who was forced to close the league in 2019 due to bankruptcy. The AAF was however a breath of fresh air for many fans, as the overall gameplay was indeed much better than expected.
The XFL’s 2020 team cities consists of Dallas, Los Angeles, Houston, St. Louis, New York, Tampa Bay, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
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