Disney’s XFL Launch Won’t Just Bring New Football to ESPN
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The newest edgy FX drama doesn’t rely on biker gangs, rogue cops, rural-country drug lords or a man left alone in a world filled with women. Instead, it will focus on football players. A gridiron game might not normally qualify for association with series like “Sons of Anarchy,” “The Shield,” “Justified” or “Y: The Last Man.” but starting this week, there will be plenty of nail-biting at FX, which is picking up live sports for the first time in years. XFL games will turn up on the network on weekends, a way for Disney to keep showing all the NBA, NHL and college matches that ESPN fans expect, while making a bid to bring other viewers in with the lure of football in the spring, when the NFL is on hiatus.