The UFL is taking a back seat to auto racing.
Via Mike Mitchell of SI.com, Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks recently confirmed that UFL games will move to Friday nights in 2025. Fox needs the weekend broadcast windows for its new deal with IndyCar.
For now, there’s no specific number of UFL games that will be affected. Shanks said “many” games will move to Fridays.
Friday nights will be open on Fox because WWE Smackdown moves to USA Network in October.
The UFL has a 10-week regular season and a two-week postseason.
It’s also unclear when the UFL season will commence in 2025. It possibly will start closer to the Super Bowl than it did in 2024.
The move could make it harder to generate significant ratings. Attendance also could be impacted by playing games on Friday night.
Regardless, the UFL has done well in its first year — but not well enough to stay in a better weekend slot on Fox.
The inaugural UFL season ends on Sunday in St. Louis, with a championship game between the San Antonio Brahmas and the Birmingham Stallions.
