Big Picture
Kim & Kourt Take Bev Hills Plus, Daniel Radcliffe works his magic and Bruce Jenner blasts to the past. Get the latest pics!
MORE PHOTOS +Most Commented
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: Vote in the Final Round! (2036)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (698)
- Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Photos Galore! New Pics From Their Post-Twilight Flicks! (606)
- Afternoon Mail! Are Gleeks Having More Sex Than Vamps? (586)
- TV's Top Couple Tournament: And the Winner Is... (504)
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z Share First Photos of Baby Blue Ivy! (398)
- Whitney Houston Dead at 48 (396)
- Life After Breaking Dawn?! Maybe, Says Studio Head! (226)
- Morning Mail! Céline Dion Talks Whitney Houston's Tragic Death (222)
- Blind Vice! Nevis Divine's Sad Past (214)
Top 10 Stories
- Colbert Report Mystery Shutdown: Production Suspended Due to "Unforeseen Circumstances"
- Kevin Costner? Aretha Franklin? Bobby Brown? Latest Details on Whitney Houston's Funeral
- Diddy Remembers Whitney Houston: "She Was So Full of Life"
- Royal Feud Shocker! Sean Penn Slams Prince William's "Unthinkable" Deployment
- Real Housewives' Michaele Salahi & Journey's Neal Schon: Tareq Salahi Is the One Tormenting Us!
- Angelina Jolie Tears Up—Watch Her Get Emotional
- Josh Duhamel Not Coming Back for Transformers 4: Is Anyone?!
- Spoiler Chat Daily: A New Girl Baby on the Way?! Plus, Scoop on Vampire Diaries, Glee and More
- Jersey Shore Sneak Peek: Pauly D Pulls a Fast (and Dirty) One on Deena
- American Idol: Did Tent Girl Get Better? Who Passed Out Onstage? And Who's Headed to Vegas?!
Fashion Police
Leighton's Valentine's Look Plus, Ashlee Simpson and Cate Blanchett. Rate the highs and lows!
MORE PHOTOS +
Our Partners
NBC and WWF Tag-Team on XFL
NBC has announced it will tag-team with musclebound media giant World Wrestling Federation to own and broadcast games from its new "extreme" football league, the XFL.
After getting stripped of its National Football League gig three years ago, NBC says it will take over 50 percent of the new league and its eight teams, "offering the brand of smash mouth football that fans crave," according to network execs.
Does anyone smell blood?
Clearly, network suits are hoping to provide some testosterone-fueled ratings for its Saturday nights. NBC has committed to airing XFL's first season of games in prime time from February through April next year--not to mention the XFL Championship on April 21, 2001.
As part of the deal, the network also announced it's purchasing a minority stake in the WWF, which includes some 2.3 million new shares, for a total investment of $30 million.
"We found in all our research that fans crave a much more wide open brand of football than we're seeing today," says Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC sports. "It's the most fan-friendly league that's ever been established."
So far, six of eight XFL teams have been announced: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. And for McMahon, it marks his return to NBC Saturdays after partnering up with the network for Saturday Night's Main Event in the '80s.
"It is 100 percent sport, and NBC would have nothing to do with it unless it was," McMahon says. "We're delighted to be in business with them again."
And judging by some of the league's rule changes, a little bone crushing won't hurt either of them. To speed up the offensive game and bring the game "back to its tougher roots," the XFL is dumping the fair-catch rule on punts (usually used when defenders are about to pulverize their targets). It also will set up a 35-second play clock, limit halftime to 10 minutes and require just one foot in bounds on completed passes.
Players also will be paid bonuses for each game they win. And the league is taking a free-speech jab at its stodgy NFL counterparts, saying players are encouraged to "express individuality and the natural expression of joy and emotion" on the field.
It should be noted that the deal, announced today by network heads and WWF chairman Vince McMahon, does not mean an end to negotiations with elderly-friendly CBS--which has been trying to woo the wrestling mega-franchise away from the USA Network to court more young, male viewers. The WWF has been a ratings machine on cable, with Monday night's Raw Is War continually topping weekly ratings, and the program occupying 19 of the top 20 cable spots for first quarter 2000.
0 Comments
Now loading...