Fox has reportedly found a replacement for the Friday night spot being vacated by WWE Smackdown.
Deadline Hollywood reported Monday the network is “replacing the departing wrestling franchise with sports coverage of college football and basketball as well as UFL.”
That report has fueled speculation the fledgling new league will not only return for a second season but might already be eyeing expansion.
TVLine reported last week that Smackdown would move to the USA Network starting Sept. 13, a month earlier than the previously reported departure date.
Obviously, the UFL, which plays a spring schedule, isn’t an option for Fox’s fall schedule, but college football and basketball could be nice fits.
Other spring football leagues, The Spring League, XFL and USFL, have all aired Friday night games in the past. But the UFL potentially adding a Friday night game led some to speculate that’s a sure sign a league expansion is in the works. The eight-team UFL formed in December as the result of an XFL-USFL merger.
The league’s inaugural season features 31 games on broadcast networks, including 21 on Fox, which owns a 50% share in the new venture. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and a couple of business partners, Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale, round out the ownership group.
ABC, ESPN, and FS1 are the UFL’s other broadcast partners.
While there have been some predictions the UFL will follow in the footsteps of other failed spring football leagues, the report Fox is planning Friday night games is a good sign that the league will be back in 2025, and the rumored expansion is on track.
If there is expansion next year in the #UFL, which it does seem like that is a legitimate possibility, a Friday Night slot would make sense if there’s 5-6 games per week.
According to @DEADLINE, Friday Nights are in play for UFL content down the road. https://t.co/QvHeygY1b5
— James Larsen (@JamesLarsenPFN) May 13, 2024
Fans and sports media responded to the report with some optimism about the spring football league’s future.
More teams does a couple of things. Makes for more possible good matchups later in the year & it sends a longevity signal to fans. I think BHAM fans, as an example, are watching on TV but are not getting as personally invested to attend because of previous leagues failing.
— Royal Paine (@TheRoyalePain) May 13, 2024
I’m just happy they’re making plans for 2025
— KSG (@KSG504__) May 13, 2024
FOX will use UFL as part of their Friday night strategy. This points to expansion (more games for more windows) and the ratings being better than expected on FOX’s end. Attendance while an issue is a minor problem, the viewership is strong and that matters. https://t.co/FsPtitgyzp
— theImperfecttl (@imperfecttl) May 13, 2024
I said this would be a good and real possibility in my last live stream. With Smackdown leaving Friday night that opens up this possibility! A weekly primetime game would be awesome for the league! https://t.co/PicW6Ht9KL
— Zomb Phox UFL (@ZombPhoxUFL) May 13, 2024
