At a recent Sports Business Journal panel discussion, where the UFL served as a Gold sponsor, key league executives shared insights about the league’s structure, broadcast plans, and future vision.
UFL President & CEO Russ Brandon, Managing Director of RedBird Capital Kevin LaForce, and ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus focused on ownership dynamics, viewership data, and market strategies. Here are some key quotes from the event.
Proving Market Demand
LaForce explains why investors are confident in spring football’s potential:
“I think the demand is there. We see it, we measure it. It’s why we’re investing heavily behind it. A million viewers on average over the air broadcast, that just doesn’t happen often. And nowhere in the history of spring football or really any new sports format, have you seen the capabilities that we’ve put together here between Fox, ESPN, Dwayne Johnson, Danny Garcia, the Russ and the management team, the football ops, which is basically the National Football League football operations.”
The viewership numbers demonstrate significant audience interest. The assembled team of media and sports industry veterans provides unprecedented operational expertise.
Football’s Enduring Appeal
Magnus emphasizes why spring football fits the sports landscape:
“Listen, it’s football at the end of the day. The last panel ended with mentioning some really innovative and cool things that are happening in the industry, like Unrival, TGL. This, at the end of the day, is football. With the traction we’re seeing on the college game and the performance that the NFL continues to crank out year after year, this fits right in there.”
The statement positions the UFL as a natural extension of football’s popularity. The timing allows the league to capitalize on growing fan appetite for football content.
Broadcast Success
Magnus details the extensive media coverage:
“We did 31 of 43 games on over-the-air broadcast television, either Fox or ABC. We did 41 of 43 on Fox, ABC, or ESPN. And the numbers were up roughly 30% year over year.”
The broad distribution strategy reaches fans across multiple platforms. Year-over-year growth indicates increasing audience engagement.
Broadcast Innovation
Brandon highlights their commitment to fan engagement and transparency:
“What we’ve been able to do in one of the cool platforms, and we see our numbers skewing younger and younger, is just watching the coaches interact with the officials and going back to the command center, seeing that transparency. Scott has built an incredible platform there. And just as we continue to look at ways to bring our content to the consumer in a more meaningful way, we’re getting a lot of very positive feedback.”
The in-game access provides fans unique insights into game operations. The transparency initiative attracts younger viewers while building trust with the audience.
Innovation Focus
Burke outlines their content strategy:
“The shoulders side and the original content side, I think at this point in our collective evolution, I think we can go a lot further with resources by being smart and tactical and frequent on digital and social than any long-form presentation. A year-round, always on philosophy, particularly on social and digital, critically important.”
The emphasis on digital engagement targets younger audiences. The strategy aims to maintain fan interest beyond game days.
The SBJ panel revealed the UFL’s strong foundation through broadcast partnerships, market success, and strategic innovation. The key point all were making is that RedBird Capital, FOX, and ESPN are in it for the long haul. The United Football League is not going anywhere but up. That should be comforting for fans.
The complete panel discussion is available through Sports Business Journal’s event coverage and platforms.
