The XFL’s Broadcast Partners

[MikeMitchell]

The next big shoe to drop. This can arguably make or break the league. With the cities, markets and venues out of the way. The next two months are going to provide a lot of news and speculation on team names, head coaches, team presidents and quarterbacks. By the end of February, this should all be finalized.

The thing that will be the catalyst for getting quality coaches and players will be the network or networks that hitch their wagon to this league. That news is coming next. Once that is announced, everything else will follow. It’s the biggest key to this league’s chance to survive.

The original XFL’s broadcast partners killed the league the first time around. As 50-50 partner, NBC abandoned ship and reneged on their 2 year commitment. UPN tried a power play on Vince McMahon by trying to get him to make concessions on the WWE tv deal. TNN was left standing as the lone partner. Vince cut his losses and closed up shop because he was jeopardizing his main brand.

This is why Vince McMahon is back by himself as the lone investor of the league, but the truth is he still needs broadcast partners he can trust to make this work long time.

Partners?... I really think that there could be more than one, just like the last time. The XFL could theoretically go into business with a rights package that airs on both NBC and Fox, just like The NFL has. It would of course involve both networks broadcast and cable channels. If The XFL pulls this off and lands with both. It would shock the industry and the naysayers. The truth is both NBC and Fox seem like good potential partners. They are already in bed with McMahon and The WWE.

What will the networks want in return? They both need more live programming, specifically on their respective cable channels. Live event value is the reason that the WWE got a billion dollars for their Raw and Smackdown shows on USA and Fox.

NBC and Fox May look to take a stake in the XFL. Some type of revenue sharing plan. What also could be alarming is if the broadcast partner has an easy out if the league struggles early on. The XFL has to somehow get their broadcast partners to legitimately buy in and not bail at the first sign of trouble.

Going prime time is scary. It’s a blessing and a curse. A Saturday afternoon game on NBC sports can get a million viewers and the network would be extremely pleased. Do 3 million viewers on a network prime time show and you are headed straight to cancel land. Whomever The XFL does business with, they have to protect themselves and prove to the public with their deal that they are not one and done again.