The National Football League (NFL) is bringing its flagship morning show “Good Morning Football” to free broadcast television for the first time.
On Wednesday, officials with the NFL confirmed a syndicated version of the show is in the works, which will be distributed by Sony Pictures Television to local broadcast stations across the country.
Three hours of Good Morning Football have aired on the NFL’s pay TV channel NFL Network since 2016. Starting this fall, the network will produce an additional two hours of the program — which will be called “GMFB” — and stations will have the option of taking one or both hours.
The NFL and Sony are still working to sign new affiliate agreements for GMFB, and additional details are expected to be announced at a later date.
Current plans call for the NFL to distribute the show in two, one-hour blocks, with stations having the option of taking one or both hours, depending on their scheduling needs. The program can air live or on a tape-delay, and stations will have access to seven minutes of ad inventory per hour, with Sony reserving another seven minutes for itself.
Good Morning Football airs throughout the year, even during the NFL’s off-season. GMFB will produce shows for at least 42 weeks, and stations will have the option of airing re-runs if they so choose.
As part of the launch, Good Morning Football will move from its studios at 4 World Trade Center in New York to a broadcast facility in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood. The California studios already produce shows like “NFL GameDay” and “NFL Total Access,” as well as the Sunday morning and afternoon whip-around program “NFL RedZone.”
The move is expected to be completed over the summer, during which Good Morning Football will go on hiatus. When Good Morning Football returns, it will extend its schedule to incorporate the two-hour syndicated show as well.
