Timeline of American Football on UK television facts for kids

This is a timeline showing how American Football has been shown on television in the United Kingdom. It covers when different channels started broadcasting games, highlights, and special shows, helping the sport grow in popularity across the UK.

The 1980s: Kicking Off!

• 1982
  • On November 7, American sport began to be shown regularly on UK television. Channel 4 started broadcasting weekly highlights of the NFL every Sunday. Before this, American football was only shown sometimes on ITV's World of Sport.

• 1983
  • On January 30, live American Football was seen in the UK for the very first time! Channel 4 broadcast the exciting Super Bowl XVII game live.

• 1984
  • On March 29, Screensport launched. This new channel showed a lot of American Football, and it was a big part of their programs for many years.

• 1987
  • On August 29, London Weekend Television (LWT) started showing weekly highlights of American sports, including college football, as part of its new overnight schedule. Anglia Television also showed this coverage. It continued for about a year.

The 1990s: Sky and Channel 5 Join In

• 1991
  • In the spring, Sky Sports began showing live games from the new World League of American Football. Channel 4 also covered this league with a weekly highlights show on Saturday mornings.

• 1995
  • Sky Sports started broadcasting the NFL for the first time.
  • On April 8, the World League of American Football returned after three years. Sky Sports showed the live games. Highlights of Scottish Claymores matches were also shown on STV.

• 1997
  • On March 31, Channel 5 launched. From its very first night, it began showing live and recorded American sports overnight on weekdays.

• 1998
  • On January 25, Channel 4 stopped showing American Football after broadcasting Super Bowl XXXII. This ended their long connection with the sport, which had been there since Channel 4 first started.
  • In September, Channel 5 became the new home for NFL coverage on regular, free-to-air TV channels.

The 2000s: New Channels and Returns

• 2002
  • On December 5, NASN launched. This channel was dedicated to showing live and recorded coverage of North American sports.

• 2004
  • On February 1, Channel 5's first period of regularly showing the NFL ended with its live coverage of Super Bowl XXXVIII.

• 2005
  • In January, ITV broadcast American Football for the first time, showing the play-offs and the Superbowl. ITV also showed these events in 2006 and 2007.

• 2007
  • In March, ESPN bought NASN. This meant that popular ESPN shows like Baseball Tonight and Around the Horn returned to UK screens.
  • In September, the BBC started showing coverage of the NFL for the first time.
  • Also in September, Channel 5 returned to NFL coverage. They signed a two-year deal to broadcast NBC Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football.

• 2009
  • On February 1, NASN was renamed ESPN America after ESPN bought the channel.

The 2010s: More Channels and HD

• 2010
  • On March 1, a European version of SportsCenter began airing five nights a week on ESPN America. This show included news and action from the NFL and college football.
  • Channel 5 stopped its live overnight coverage of American sport, including American Football. This ended a long tradition of American sports on Channel 5's overnight schedule.
  • On June 21, ESPN America started broadcasting in high definition (HD), offering a clearer picture.
  • In September, American Football returned to Channel 4 after more than ten years. The channel began broadcasting the Sunday Night Football match.
  • On September 14, ESPN UK started showing live coverage of all the National Football League's Monday night games, along with the 90-minute pre-game show, Monday Night Countdown.

• 2012
  • In April, ESPN America stopped showing a European version of SportsCentre. Instead, they showed an edited version of the 2 am show produced in Los Angeles.
  • In September, the BBC broadcast Monday Night Football for one season. For the 2013/14 season, NFL coverage on free-to-air TV moved to Channel 4.

• 2013
  • On August 1, BT Sport launched. This new channel included lots of coverage of the College Football season. They showed live games and ESPN-produced shows like College Gameday.
  • On September 8, Channel 4's American Football coverage expanded. They signed a new two-year deal with the NFL to be the main free-to-air home for the sport. This deal brought the Superbowl back to Channel 4, 16 years after they last showed it.
  • On September 9, Eurosport became the new broadcaster for the NFL's Monday Night Football. Eurosport showed this weekly game for the next two seasons.

• 2015
  • Sky Sports secured live coverage of NBC's Sunday Night Football and ESPN's Monday Night Football. This meant Sky had live rights to every NFL game during the season for the first time.
  • On September 9, the BBC announced that the NFL would return to its screens. Channel 4 had decided not to renew its rights. The BBC deal included showing the NFL London Games live, with at least one game being exclusively live. The BBC also showed weekly highlights and magazine shows, starting in November. The deal also included live TV, radio, and online rights to show the Super Bowl alongside Sky Sports.

The 2020s: Dedicated Channels and New Homes

• 2020
  • On September 3, Sky Sports NFL launched. This was a special channel during the NFL season that provided round-the-clock coverage. It showed live and recorded games, plus shows from NFL Network like Good Morning Football. This channel has been repeated in later years.
  • On September 14, Channel 5 started showing NFL coverage again. They broadcast the weekly Monday night game and a weekly highlights show.

• 2022
  • In September, Sky Sports began showing coverage of Notre Dame home matches.
  • On September 9, after seven years on the BBC, free-to-air coverage of the NFL returned to ITV. This deal included showing two of the three NFL London Games and the Super Bowl, plus a weekly highlights program.

• 2023
  • In August, BT Sport was relaunched as TNT Sports. TNT Sports decided not to show NCAA competitions (college sports). However, Notre Dame's seven home games were shown on Sky Sports. This meant that for the first time in twenty years, UK viewers could not watch full coverage of the College Football season.