ABSTRACT
We look at how national television exposure helped propel NFL professional football to its current status as America’s favorite sport to watch. The chapter examines the market forces that pushed the NFL and its new rival, the AFL, toward a merger and the role that arm-twisting on Capitol Hill played in making the merger possible. There are behind-the-scenes stories from Super Bowl I, the only one ever televised live by two American networks. The chapter makes the case that the debut of Monday Night Football in 1970 was a milestone in US television history as it turned sports into a primetime entertainment product. And it discusses the impact of studio shows that promoted live sports content beginning with The NFL Today on CBS.
