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The following is a list of the television networks and announcers who broadcast the World Bowl. The World Bowl was the championship game of the now defunct NFL Europa (and its forerunner, the World League of American Football).
In the United States, television coverage from 1991–92 was provided by the ABC and USA Network. The reported cost of the contracts varied. According to the Los Angeles Times , ABC committed to $28 million over two years, and USA Network committed to $25 million for the same length of time with an additional two-year option. Ratings were characterized as "poor" in the inaugural season, with ABC averaging a 2.1 rating and USA Network averaging a 1.2 rating. [1] Television ratings in the United States were "dismal" during the league's second season, with ABC averaging a 1.7 rating and USA Network averaging a 1.1 rating. [1] As a result, ABC's payment was reduced to $3 million while USA saw theirs lowered to $10 million. According to The New York Times, USA Network was "not happy" with this arrangement and did not heavily promote the league as a result. [2]
International teams aired on different domestic networks. Montreal Machine games were aired in English on TSN and in French on RDS. [3] Coverage in Europe was mostly on satellite television. Eurosport showed games on delay and Super Channel aired the 1991 World Bowl. [4] In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 showed half-hour highlights of Monarchs games on Saturday mornings. [4] Larry Eichel of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that "The only way a Monarchs fan could watch the team's first-round playoff game from the Meadowlands was to go to Wembley to see it on closed circuit." [4]
From 1995–2007, league's United Kingdom television coverage was mainly on Sky Sports, with additional coverage also on Channel 4, [5] [6] STV, [5] [6] and Carlton. [5] [6] Eight European continental broadcasters also showed games, [5] [6] including Germany's Vox and DSF. [5] [6]
Although the league no longer had any U.S. teams, it was covered on American television until its closure. Fox became a co-owner of the league in exchange for broadcasting rights, and following the relaunch all regular season games were broadcast on the FX network. [7] Fox ended its joint ownership with the league in 2000, but continued to air some games as a television partner. [8] In 2004, NFL Network began airing select NFL Europe games. [9] This was expanded to cover all NFL Europe games – including the World Bowl – in 2006. [10]
| World Bowl number | Year | Network | Play-by-play man | Color commentator(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XV | 2007 | NFL Network | Bob Papa | Brian Baldinger | |||
| XIV | 2006 | NFL Network | Curt Menefee | Brian Baldinger | |||
| XIII | 2005 | Fox | Curt Menefee | Brian Baldinger | |||
| XII | 2004 | Fox | Curt Menefee | Brian Baldinger | |||
| XI | 2003 | Fox | Curt Menefee | Brian Baldinger | |||
| X | 2002 | Fox | Curt Menefee | Brian Baldinger | |||
| IX | 2001 | Fox | Curt Menefee | Brian Baldinger | |||
| VIII | 2000 | Fox | Sam Rosen | Bill Maas | |||
| VII | 1999 | Fox | Sam Rosen | Matt Millen and Bill Maas | |||
| VI | 1998 | Fox | Tim Ryan | Bill Maas and Ronnie Lott | |||
| V | 1997 | Fox | Kevin Harlan | Matt Millen and Bill Maas | |||
| IV | 1996 | Fox | Kevin Harlan | Matt Millen and Bill Maas | |||
| III | 1995 | Fox | |||||
| 1994 | Not played | ||||||
| 1993 | |||||||
| II [11] | 1992 | USA | Brad Nessler | Boomer Esiason | |||
| I | 1991 | ABC | Brent Musburger | Dick Vermeil | |||
NFL Europe League was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally founded in 1989 as the World League of American Football, the league was envisioned as a transatlantic league encompassing teams from both North America and Europe. Initially, the WLAF consisted of seven teams in North America and three in Europe. It began play in 1991 and lasted for two seasons before suspending operations; while the league had been "wildly popular" in Europe, it failed to achieve success in North America. After a two-year hiatus, it returned as a six-team European league, with teams based in England, Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland, and Spain. NFL Europa was dissolved in 2007 due to its continued unprofitability and the NFL's decision to shift its focus towards hosting regular-season games in Europe; at the time of its closure, the league consisted of five German teams and one team based in the Netherlands.
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