US sports broadcaster ESPN has agreed a multi-year deal, commencing in 2014, for the rights to indoor American football competition the Arena Football League.
Under the deal, ESPN will broadcast more than 10 regular season and postseason games per year, including the showpiece ArenaBowl and one conference championship game, on its television networks.
Additionally, a minimum of 75 games will be shown on ESPN3, the broadcaster’s multi-screen online streaming service. ESPN’s video player will be incorporated into the AFL’s official website.
The relationship between the AFL and ESPN began when ESPN televised the inaugural ArenaBowl in 1987. Since then, ESPN televised a combination of AFL regular season and playoff games from 1995-99, AFL playoff games from 2000-02 and both regular season and playoff games from 2007-08. Additionally, the ABC network televised the ArenaBowl for five years from 1998-2002.