OT: The 2026 World Cup Thread

[Mike the Brit]

The NFL got very popular in the UK in the 1980s through a deal with Channel 4 (the second commercial channel in the UK then, with a mandate to explore "alternatives"). They hit on a formula of showing highlights and a "game of the week" on a Monday night, which was one of the Sunday games, compressed to, if I recall, about an hour or an hour and a half -- so all of the plays but none of the endless time-outs. It was a great formula and there wasn't extensive press or TV coverage so people didn't already know the results. A lot of now-older people got hooked then.

Then the NFL sold rights to Mr Murdoch's pay-for-sports channel and he live-streamed US broadcasts, so the fan base didn't grow. Anyway, the UK already has a violent winter sport (rugby) which Germany doesn't.