• SPORT1 acquires exclusive rights package for the next two seasons to the new US Football League starting in February
• XFL‘s 2023 season begins after the NFL Super Bowl: SPORT1 presents the XFL from February 18 live and in highlights on free-TV and extensively on pay-TV channel SPORT1+ as well as its digital and social media channels
• Olaf Schröder, CEO of Sport1 Medien AG and Chairman of the Management Board of Sport1 GmbH: „Enthusiasm for American Football has grown enormously in German-speaking countries in recent years – with the first NFL game in Munich as the temporary high point of the euphoria surrounding what is now one of the most-watched sports over here. With the XFL, we‘re offering an even greater variety of sports on our platform, strengthening our US sports programming and underscoring our ambition to go on the offensive as a first mover, especially in such new and innovative topics.“
• Annika Rody, Director Media Rights of Sport1 GmbH: „We want to supply the football-interested public with exclusive football content on our sports platform after the end of the NFL season. We will put the XFL in the spotlight through live games, highlights and stories around the league, deliberately appealing to younger fans that crave this content. We would like to thank the XFL for their trust in us as their exclusive media partner for the German-speaking region!“
• Jay Rothman, XFL SVP Broadcast Operations: „We have been working for months to develop a live event broadcast that allows our fans to immerse themselves in the action and on-screen talent is absolutely critical to bring the energy and excitement from the field through the screens of our fans. We‘re thrilled with the team and behind-the-scenes crew that has been assembled and we‘re looking forward to kickoff in less than a month.“

Ismaning, January 19, 2023 – XFL starts one week after the NFL Super Bowl – Touchdown for the new US Football League on SPORT1: Sport1 GmbH has acquired exclusive platform-neutral rights to the XFL for Germany, Austria and Switzerland from ESPN for the next two years. The XFL will start its season on February 18, 2023 – one week after the Super Bowl. The rights package includes a total of 43 games – on each of the ten gamedays, two games each are scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays, after the regular season followed by the XFL Playoffs on April 29 and 30 and the XFL Championship on May 13. SPORT1 will show the opening season live and in highlights on every gameday on free-TV and extensively on SPORT1+ as well as on SPORT1.de, the SPORT1 apps and its social media channels. A minimum of up to 10 games per season are scheduled to air on free-TV channel SPORT1. The XFL – which will be broadcast in the US on ABC, ESPN and FX as part of a partnership with The Walt Disney Company and ESPN – is also attracting special attention internationally through its prominent ownership group, which includes Hollywood megastar Dwayne Johnson. Johnson has a special relationship with American Football: Before his acting and wrestling career, he won the US college championship with the Miami Hurricanes.

Football galore even after the NFL Super Bowl: The XFL live on German TV from February to May regularly on Saturday and Sunday nights

On free-TV, SPORT1 will broadcast at least one game on the opening weekend on Sunday, February 19, as well as regularly on the weekends thereafter. Beyond the broadcasts on free-TV, SPORT1 will also comprehensively present the XFL on the other channels of its multi-channel platform: On its pay offers such as SPORT1+, SPORT1 plans to broadcast XFL games live. In addition, the free-to-air games will also run in the livestream on SPORT1.de and the SPORT1 apps. On its digital and social media channels, SPORT1 will also offer extensive highlight and news coverage of the XFL throughout the season. All games are non-exclusive vs ESPN Player/TWDC (The Walt Disney Company) branded services.

In Week 1, the games Vegas Vipers vs. Arlington Renegades (live from 8:50 p.m.) and Orlando Guardians vs. Houston Roughnecks (live from 02:30 a.m. in the night from Saturday to Sunday) are scheduled on pay-TV channel SPORT1+ on Saturday, February 18. On Sunday, February 19, the St. Louis Battlehawks vs. San Antonio Brahmas game will be broadcast live on free-TV on SPORT1 from 09:00 p.m. Live from 2:00 a.m. in the night from Sunday to Monday, the game Seattle Sea Dragons vs. D.C. Defenders will air on SPORT1+.

Olaf Schröder, CEO of Sport1 Medien AG and Chairman of the Management Board of Sport1 GmbH: „We are delighted to present the eagerly awaited premiere season to the many football fans in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as the exclusive media partner of the XFL. Enthusiasm for American Football has grown enormously in German-speaking countries in recent years – with the first NFL game in Munich as the temporary high point of the euphoria surrounding what is now one of the most-watched TV sports in this country. With the XFL, we‘re offering an even greater variety of sports on our platform, strengthening our US sports programming – which already includes Major League Baseball live broadcasts here – and underscoring our ambition to go on the offensive as a first mover, especially in such new and innovative topics.“

Annika Rody, Director Media Rights of Sport1 GmbH: „The great demand for American Football in the German market continues unabated due to the NFL. We want to supply the football-interested public with exclusive football content on our sports platform after the end of the NFL season. We will put the XFL in the spotlight through live games, highlights and stories around the league deliberately appealing to younger fans that crave this content. We would like to thank the XFL for their trust in us as their exclusive media partner for the German-speaking region!“

Jay Rothman, XFL SVP Broadcast Operations: „We have been working for months to develop a live event broadcast that allows our fans to immerse themselves in the action and on-screen talent is absolutely critical to bring the energy and excitement from the field through the screens of our fans. We‘re thrilled with the team and behind-the-scenes crew that has been assembled and we‘re looking forward to kickoff in less than a month.“

The new football league from the US – led by Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson: Stage is set for the XFL

This season, eight teams will compete in the XFL, divided into two divisions: XFL North (D.C. Defenders, Seattle Sea Dragons, St. Louis Battlehawks, Vegas Vipers) and XFL South (Arlington Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Orlando Guardians, San Antonio Brahmas).

The XFL boasts many big names at launch: The league‘s star coaches include Wade Phillips (Houston), former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, amongst others, and Bob Stoops (Arlington), who became one of the most successful US college coaches this millennium as coach of the Oklahoma Sooners from 1999 to 2016. In addition, two former Pittsburgh Steelers stars, Hall of Famer Rod Woodson (Las Vegas) and Hines Ward (San Antonio), now call the shots on the sidelines.

Among the players, too, there are many familiar names with many years of NFL experience: the best-known players include Vic Beasley and Martavis Bryant (both Vegas Vipers), Rahim Moore and Will Hill (Arlington Renegades), Cody Latimer and Matt Elam (Orlando Guardians), PJ Hall and Julie‘n Davenport (Seattle Sea Dragons) or quarterback AJ McCarron, who played eight years in the NFL and previously won the US college championship with Alabama Crimson Tide in 2012 and 2013.

The XFL‘s ownership group, led by Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and Gerry Cardinale‘s RedBird Capital Partners, promises the football-loving public a fan-focused, global professional football league with innovative rules and an enhanced 360° game experience. The XFL launches with the lofty ambition of bringing entertainment and world-class American football together – with the goal of advancing the sport globally and also expanding and enhancing career opportunities for professional football players with its launch in February 2023.

For more information or any questions, please contact:

Michael Roehrig

Director Communication

Sport1 GmbH

Muenchener Straße 101g

85737 Ismaning

Phone +49 (0)89 96066 1210

Fax +49 (0)89 96066 1209

E-Mail michael.roehrig@sport1.de

www.sport1.de