Mcmahon feels fans want “totally different ways” to watch football.
In January 2019, Sports Business Journal reported the XFL was looking for broadcast partners that would air nearly all their games. They also reported that the league was in talks with ABC/ESPN and Fox Sports.
Today, we await an announcement about the XFL’s major network broadcasting plan, which we are told is imminent. We also remain curious about the XFL’s plan to stream games online in “totally different ways.”
When the XFL was relaunched, back in January 2018, Vince McMahon stated that he felt that fans wanted more out of their sports broadcast, and they did not necessarily want digital streams to be a straight simulcast of a television broadcast. He felt they wanted “totally different ways” to watch football.
McMahon claimed he aimed to leverage digital streaming as part of broadcasting arrangements for the XFL, and that, unlike in 2001, the XFL would not consider viewership to be an important statistic.
“To me the landscape has changed in so many different ways. Just look at technology and companies like Facebook and Amazon bidding for sports rights. Even if ratings go down, there’s no denying that live sports rights continue to be valuable and continue to deliver,” McMahon stated as part of the XFL relaunch.
So, you can play football, have nobody watch on broadcast television, and still produce a valuable product?
When McMahon said “valuable,” one of the things he may be referring to is online gaming. For example, when the AAF kicked off two weekends ago, their game day experience came with an App where users could follow the game in real time and predict the next play. Although there is no money changing hands, this type of live game prediction could easily lend to gambling, and this is where many feel the AAF may find its greatest success.
Will the XFL follow suit? Likely so.
In 2001, the XFL changed the way football was broadcast, with live mics, on-field cameras, and extensive use of a Skycam, which is now a major part of any football broadcast. Today, we await to see how the XFL will re-invent live streaming, and now, online sports gaming.
