Departure Of Arena Football Set To Cripple NBC

It's a day we've all been dreading. The Arena Football League's deal with NBC has expired, and NBC has opted not to renew it. I know, I'm as upset about it as you are. We shared so much this season through the ups and downs of the Arena League. It brought us all closer together.

I don't know where they'll go from here. ABC is mentioned, but there's also the little detail about Arena Football games drawing a less than 1.0 rating in the regular season, and a meager little 0.7 rating for the Arena Bowl. I'm not sure how they managed to get a lower rating for the Arena Bowl than for regular season games, but I never liked how NBC handled Arena Football to begin with. When they were looking for a show to fill the timeslot left open by the end of Friends, the one and only choice should have been Arena Football. Hey, it couldn't have done worse than "Joey."

I'm a little concerned that if they don't find a network home for next season, that you'll all stop caring about Arena Football. I might have to turn to the WNBA to fill my need for sports leagues that are inexplicably on network television.

NBC, Arena Football League End Pact [MediaWeek]