Editing Arena Football League (section)

===Television===
{{Main|AFL on TNN|AFL on FSN|AFL on NBC|Arena Football League on ESPN|Arena Football on CBS|List of ArenaBowl broadcasters}}

====2000s====
In 2000 the AFL had a television deal with [[The National Network|TNN]], [[ESPN]], [[ESPN2]] and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] worth more than $25 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2000-03-02-0003021749-story.html|title= Players Revive Arena Season|work=[[Hartford Courant]]|date=March 2, 2000}}</ref> Beginning with the [[2003 Arena Football League season|2003 season]], the AFL made a deal with NBC to televise league games, which was renewed for another two years in [[2005 Arena Football League season|2005]]. In conjunction with this, the league moved the beginning of the season from May to February (the week after the NFL's [[Super Bowl]]) and scheduled most of its games on Sunday instead of Friday or Saturday as it had in the past. In [[2006 Arena Football League season|2006]], because of the [[2006 Winter Olympics|XX Winter Olympic Games]], the [[2006 Stanley Cup playoffs|Stanley Cup]] playoffs and the [[2006 Daytona 500|Daytona 500]], NBC scaled back from weekly coverage to scattered coverage during the regular season, but committed to a full playoff schedule ending with the [[ArenaBowl XX|20th ArenaBowl]]. NBC and the Arena Football League officially severed ties on June 30, 2006, having failed to reach a new broadcast deal. [[Cleveland Gladiators|Las Vegas]] owner Jim Ferraro stated during a radio interview that the reason efforts to make a deal failed was that ESPN refused to show highlights or scores or even mention Arena football as long as it was being aired on NBC.

For the 2006 season only, the AFL added a national cable deal with OLN (later the now-defunct [[NBC Sports Network]]) for eleven regular-season games and one playoff game.

On December 19, 2006, ESPN announced the purchase of a minority stake in the AFL. This deal included television rights for the ESPN family of networks. ESPN would televise a minimum of 17 regular season games, most on Monday nights, and nine playoff games, including [[ArenaBowl XXI]] on [[ESPN on ABC|ABC]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/los-angeles-avengers-game-notes/n-3439348 | title = AFL, ESPN enter into five-year agreement | work = oursportscentral.com | date = March 20, 2007 | access-date = August 9, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170809193009/http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/los-angeles-avengers-game-notes/n-3439348 | archive-date = August 9, 2017 | url-status = live }}</ref> The deal resulted in added exposure on ESPN's ''[[SportsCenter]]''. However, after the original AFL filed for bankruptcy, this arrangement did not carry over to the new AFL, which was a separate legal entity.  The AFL also had a regional-cable deal with [[Fox Sports Net|FSN]], where FSN regional affiliates in AFL markets carried local team games.

====2010s====
After its return in [[2010 Arena Football League season|2010]], the AFL had its national television deal with the [[NFL Network]] for a weekly Friday night game.<ref>{{cite web | last = Lombardo | first = John | url = http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/64774 | title = NFL Network to broadcast new arena league's games | publisher = Sportsbusinessjournal.com | date = February 8, 2010 | access-date = August 4, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100211124307/http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/64774 | archive-date = February 11, 2010 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://arenafootball.com/news/index.html?article_id=49 | title = NFL Network Names Announcers For Arena Football League Debut | work = Arena Football League | date = March 29, 2010 | access-date = March 29, 2010 | url-status = usurped | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101025141342/http://arenafootball.com/news/index.html?article_id=49 | archive-date = October 25, 2010 | df = mdy}}</ref> All AFL games not on the NFL Network could be seen for free online, provided by [[Ustream]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Press Releases: AFL announces online streaming partnership with Ustream (AFL press release) {{!}} ArenaFan.com |url=http://www.arenafan.com/news/?page=pressrel&article=10339 |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=www.arenafan.com}}</ref>

The NFL Network ceased airing live Arena Football League games partway through the [[2012 Arena Football League season|2012 season]] as a result of ongoing labor problems within the league. Briefly, the games were broadcast on a [[broadcast delay|tape delay]] to prevent the embarrassment that would result should the players stage a [[strike action|work stoppage]] immediately prior to a scheduled broadcast.  (In at least once incidence this actually happened, resulting in a non-competitive game being played with replacement players, and further such incidents were threatened.)  Once the labor issues were resolved, the NFL Network resumed the practice of broadcasting a live Friday night game. NFL Network dropped the league at the end of the 2012 season.

For the [[2013 Arena Football League season|2013 season]], the league's new national broadcast partner was the [[CBS Sports Network]]. CBSSN would air 19 regular season games<ref>{{cite news | title = CBS Sports Net to air Arena Football League | author = McMillan, Ken | url = http://blogs.hudsonvalley.com/hudson-valley-sports-tv/2013/02/14/cbs-sports-net-to-air-arena-football-league/ | date = February 14, 2013 | access-date = February 24, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130310061239/http://blogs.hudsonvalley.com/hudson-valley-sports-tv/2013/02/14/cbs-sports-net-to-air-arena-football-league/ | archive-date = March 10, 2013 | url-status = live }}</ref> and two playoff games. [[CBS]] would also air the [[ArenaBowl]], marking the first time since 2008 that the league's finale aired on network television.<ref>{{cite news | title = Arena Football League moving to CBS Sports Network cable channel in 2013 | date = November 13, 2012 | agency = [[Associated Press]] | work = [[Yahoo!]] | url = https://finance.yahoo.com/news/arena-league-moving-cbs-sports-201726835.html | access-date = January 15, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170408173416/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/arena-league-moving-cbs-sports-201726835.html | archive-date = April 8, 2017 | url-status = live }}</ref> Regular season CBSSN broadcast games were usually on Saturday nights. As the games were shown live, the start times were not uniform as with most football broadcast packages, but varied with the time zone in which the home team was located. This meant that the AFL may have appeared either prior to or following the CBSSN's featured [[Major League Lacrosse]] game.

In [[2014 Arena Football League season|2014]], ESPN returned to the AFL as broadcast partners, with weekly games being shown on CBS Sports Network, [[ESPN]], [[ESPN2]] and [[ESPNEWS]] along with all games being broadcast on [[ESPN3]] for free live on [[WatchESPN]] and the [[ESPN]] app. [[ArenaBowl XXVII]] and [[ArenaBowl XXVIII|XXVIII]] were also broadcast on ESPN. Most teams also had a local TV station broadcast their games locally and all games were available on local radio.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/soul/Leaked_document_reveals_ESPN_as_new_television_partner_for_Arena_Football_League.html | title = Leaked document reveals ESPN as new national television partner for Arena Football League | date = December 3, 2013 | author = Vaughn Johnson | publisher = Interstate General Media, LLC | work = www.philly.com | access-date = December 4, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131216074530/http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/soul/Leaked_document_reveals_ESPN_as_new_television_partner_for_Arena_Football_League.html | archive-date = December 16, 2013 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131222215548/http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/spec-rel/121713aaa.html ESPN Acquires Rights to Arena Football Starting in 2014]}}, ArenaFootball.com, December 17, 2013</ref> In 2016, [[Univision Deportes]] began airing select AFL games during the regular season.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/spec-rel/univision-schedule-16.html | title = UNIVISION 2016 TELECAST SCHEDULE | publisher = arenafootball.com | access-date = July 2, 2016 | url-status = usurped | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160702182402/http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/spec-rel/univision-schedule-16.html | archive-date = July 2, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/spec-rel/050616aaa.html | title = AFL Broadcasts on Univision Deportes | publisher = arenafootball.com | date = May 6, 2016 | access-date = July 2, 2016 | url-status = usurped | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160702182339/http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/spec-rel/050616aaa.html | archive-date = July 2, 2016}}</ref>  For the [[2017 Arena Football League season|2017]] season, one AFL game per week was broadcast live nationally over CBS Sports Network. In 2017, the AFL also began streaming some games on [[Twitter]] and AFLNow, the league's streaming service.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.arenafootball.com/articles/arena-football-league-and-twitter-partner-to-stream-five-regular-season-games-in-2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812221307/http://www.arenafootball.com/articles/arena-football-league-and-twitter-partner-to-stream-five-regular-season-games-in-2017 | url-status=usurped | archive-date=August 12, 2017 | title = Arena Football League and Twitter Partner to Stream Five Regular Season Games in 2017 | publisher = arenafootball.com | date = June 1, 2017 | access-date = August 12, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.arenafootball.com/articles/afl-to-offer-complimentary-access-to-aflnow-during-playoffs-and-arenabowl-xxx | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812220118/http://www.arenafootball.com/articles/afl-to-offer-complimentary-access-to-aflnow-during-playoffs-and-arenabowl-xxx | url-status=usurped | archive-date=August 12, 2017 | title = AFL to Offer Complimentary Access to AFLNow During Playoffs and ArenaBowl XXX | publisher = arenafootball.com | date = August 11, 2017 | access-date = August 12, 2017}}</ref>  For the [[2018 Arena Football League season|2018]] season, the AFL's sole national English language telecast partner was the CBS Sports Network, but all games were streamed free online and Brigade and Valor games were available over their owner [[Ted Leonsis]]' Monumental Sports Network.  In 2019, all games were available via streaming on [[ESPN3]], except for [[ArenaBowl 32]], which was aired over [[ESPN2]].