NBC & FOX to Air USFL’s Inaugural Game in Historic Prime Time Simulcast

The United States Football League (USFL), a new professional football league launching this spring, will play its inaugural game on Saturday, April 16, in prime time @ 7:30PM ET at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. The game pits the New Jersey Generals against the Birmingham Stallions, and it will be televised live on NBC and FOX, making it the first scheduled sports competition to air at the same time on two competitive broadcast networks since Super Bowl I aired on NBC and CBS, January 15, 1967.

NBC Sports will provide pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage of the Generals – Stallions game which will air on both networks, utilizing its on-air, production, and technical personnel. FOX Sports will produce the game coverage, which both networks will carry, using its broadcasters, production, and technical staff, and the same commercials will run on each network throughout the broadcast. The networks will announce specific production details in the future.

“Having two broadcast networks combine and start something like the USFL is not only unique but represents our commitment to making spring football succeed,” said Pete Bevacqua, Chairman, NBC Sports. “We’re excited about the opportunity, and we appreciate the partnership and cooperation that we’ve had with Eric and his team at FOX Sports.”

“The first game played in any new league is itself historical and having the USFL’s inaugural game simulcast by NBC and FOX makes it even more so,” said FOX Sports CEO and Executive Producer Eric Shanks. “It’s rare when two competitors can come together and see how cooperation can lead to long-term benefit, and it wouldn’t be possible without having terrific relationships with Pete, Jon Miller, and so many others at NBC Sports.”

NBC Sports and FOX Sports have multi-year agreements with the USFL, which position them as the league’s official media partners, committed to carrying all 43 regular- and postseason games. While the league will release a comprehensive television schedule shortly, NBC Sports will present 22 USFL games in 2022 on NBC (9), USA Network (9), and Peacock (4), and FOX Sports will carry 22 games split between FOX (14) and FS1 (8). The combined regular-season coverage on NBC and FOX will give the USFL 22 broadcast windows, more than any regularly scheduled sport in the first half of the year.

The USFL will launch with eight teams split into two divisions playing in one location. In addition to the Stallions, Houston Gamblers, New Orleans Breakers, and Tampa Bay Bandits in the South Division, the North Division features the Michigan Panthers, Pittsburgh Maulers, Generals, and Philadelphia Stars. Each team will play a 10-game schedule, followed by semifinals between the top two teams in each division, and a championship game between division winners. The USFL has multi-year agreements with NBC Sports and FOX Sports, establishing both networks as official broadcast partners, with plans to nationally televise every game on either NBC, USA, Peacock, FOX, or FS1.

Brian Woods, a USFL co-founder, serves as President of Football Operations, and former Dallas Cowboys standout and longtime NFL on FOX game analyst Daryl Johnston is Executive Vice President, Football Operations. Additionally, former NFL Vice President of Officiating and FOX Sports’ NFL and college football rules analyst Mike Pereira is Head of Officiating, and FOX Sports’ Edward Hartman, serves as Executive Vice President, Business Operations.

The USFL is a new, independent football league controlled by FOX Sports through USFL HoldCo, LLC, a new business entity, and it is not associated or affiliated with the USFL of the 1980s or its owners. For more information, visit http://USFL2.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.