U.S. Football League’s New Kickoff Will Get Simultaneous Debut on Fox, NBC

variety.com:

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorIs one football game big enough for two different networks?NBC and Fox both intend to broadcast the (new) inaugural game from the USFL, the latest in a series of efforts to launch a spring football league that can soak up attention while the NFL is on its usual hiatus.

Under an agreement unveiled Tuesday, NBC Sports will provide pregame, halftime and postgame coverage of a game between the New Jersey Generals and the Birmingham Stallions, while Fox Sports will produce coverage of the match-up itself.

Both networks will carry the full event, and the same commercials will run on both Fox and NBC.Both NBC and Fox have multi-year rights deals with the USFL, with NBC Sports set to air 22 games in 2022, nine on NBC, nine on USA and four via Peacock.

Fox Sports is slated to carry 22 games, with 14 on Fox and eight on cable’s Fox Sports 1. Fox Sports controls the league through a holding company, and its senior tier of executives consists largely of former Fox stalwarts. “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 Eric Shanks, Fox Sports’ CEO and executive producer, in a statement. “It’s rare when two competitors can come together and see how cooperation can lead to long-term benefit.Longtime sports fans may recall an era when teams like the Generals, Memphis Showboats and Houston Gamblers took to the field for three seasons between 1983 and 1985.