Catching up on a few press releases from Monday, we have this one from NFL Network announcing that it will air the Arena Football League once again in 2012. Games will air on Fridays from the start of the season wall the way to the Arena Bowl in August. NFL Network says the last two postseason AFL games it aired this year set record ratings so you can take that for what it’s worth.
2012 will mark the third consecutive year of Arena League action on NFL Network. These games are produced and called by NFL Network staffers unlike the Canadian Football League which is taken from TSN.
We have the announcement from NFL Network.
AFL TO AIR ON NFL NETWORK FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR
“Arena Football Friday” on NFL Network set to return in 2012
TULSA – The Arena Football League will continue for its third consecutive season on NFL Network, AFL Commissioner Jerry B. Kurz announced today.
“To be paired with the NFL and NFL Network for our third season speaks volumes,” AFL Commissioner Jerry B. Kurz said. “We saw a dramatic increase in our ratings over the course of last season. More people are learning about us, following us and becoming a part of the AFL family.”
In the last two postseason games of the 2011 season, “Arena Football Friday” on NFL Network notched record high ratings. In the American Conference Championship game featuring the Georgia Force and Jacksonville Sharks on Monday, August 8, 2011, the AFL turned in a rating that increased 220 percent from the Conference Championship game in 2010. During ArenaBowl XXIV on Friday, August 12, the Sharks defeated the Arizona Rattlers, 73-70, in front of 14,320 fans at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ. The broadcast marked a new record high rating, 164 percent more than ArenaBowl XXIII in 2010.
“Arena Football Friday has delivered the exciting, high scoring live action that we expected when we agreed to the partnership,” said NFL Network programming director Lawrence Randall. “We look forward to celebrating the AFL’s 25th season and third season of Friday night games on NFL Network.”
The Arena Football League is entering its 25th season in 2012. After enhancing the schedule to a 20-week season in 2011, the League saw a 37.1 percent total increase of attendance throughout the 2011 campaign.
“I’m pleased,” Kurz said. “We have always had a loyal following and the continued support from our fans is outstanding.”
About the AFL
Since its inception in 1987, the AFL has provided the fast-paced and exciting game of Arena Football to millions of fans in numerous markets across the country. NFL Network will once again broadcast an AFL National Game of the Week for the entire regular and post season on Friday nights at 8:00 pm ET, culminating with the ArenaBowl Championship Game in August 2012.
That’s going to do it.
