Getty Former Alabama running back Trent Richardson is playing for the Birmingham Iron.
Football is not over thanks to the launch of the new Alliance of American Football league. Fans can get a glimpse of the AAF by tuning into CBS tonight, February 9 for the first set of games. The Atlanta Legends take on the Orlando Apollos at 8 p.m. Eastern. The San Antonio Commanders host the San Diego Fleet at 8 p.m. as well. Both games are on CBS, and fans will see the game in their area.
The league will continue its opening weekend on Sunday, February 10th with two more games. The Memphis Express takes on the Birmingham Iron in a southern showdown at 4 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Network. The Arizona Hotshots host the Salt Lake Stallions at 8 p.m. Eastern on NFL Network.
Fans can expect fewer commercials when they tune into AAF games. AAF founder Charlie Ebersol spoke with CBS Sports about the league’s decision to decrease commercials.
The economics of the world have changed. You don’t need to sell that many commercials to engage with a consumer anymore. What’s the number one complaint among fans about the actual production of the broadcast? It’s the commercials. You’re going to commercial every couple of minutes, and you’re gone for a couple of minutes at a time. If you ever look at a game tape, the actual game play is like 18 minutes long.
The other thing is, for an advertiser, if a game is only going to full-screen commercials a couple of times a game, look at how much more valuable it is to the limited number of advertisers we give into. Right now there are 72 commercial units in the average NFL game. That is insane.
Here’s a look at the AAF schedule for Saturday, February 9.
Alliance of American Football Schedule: Saturday, February 9
| TEAMS | TIME(ET)/TV |
| Atlanta at Orlando | 8 p.m. CBS |
| San Diego at San Antonio | 8 p.m. CBS |
NFL Network Will Broadcast All of the AAF Primetime Games
The AAF will launch on CBS for Week 1, but NFL Network will broadcast all of the primetime games moving forward. All of the NFL Network games will be on at 8 p.m. Eastern.
“NFL Network understands the mission and vision for the Alliance,” Ebersol noted in the NFL Network press release. “This partnership will keep professional football in its primetime television spot, allowing fans to continue watching America’s most popular sport well into the spring.”
The AAF also has a partnership with Turner Sports. According to the Bleacher Report, TNT will broadcast one regular season matchup and a postseason game each season. The Bleacher Report Live app will stream one AAF game a week as well.
Each Team Has Local College Ties
One of the appeals for fans in AAF cities is the amount of local talent on each roster. Each team has ties with nearby colleges and universities. For example, the Birmingham Iron have first preference on players who played for Auburn or Alabama.
“We’ve studied a lot of different ways to try and build rosters,” Polian told CBS Sports. “We went back to the USFL experience and we realized that it gave us two things. Number one was instant recognition in the home market because players that were not well-known to the football public at large are quite well-known in their local markets. That was a huge plus. And then secondly, it gave us an orderly and reasonable way of making sure that the talent was kind of spread evenly.”
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