AFLE WIDENS EUROPEAN BROADCAST FOOTPRINT

The American Football League Europe has continued to build its television presence across the continent, announcing a new partnership with Sport en France that will bring the Paris Lights and selected AFLE games to French audiences.

The agreement, announced on Friday, makes the free-to-air channel the official broadcaster of both the Lights and the AFLE in France, adding another key market to the league’s growing broadcast network as its inaugural season gets underway. Under the deal, Lights games will be available live and on demand through Sport en France and its digital platforms, while additional AFLE fixtures and playoff games will also be carried by the broadcaster. Coverage begins immediately with the Lights’ first home game, against the Firenze Red Lions this weekend, at the Complexe Sportif de l’Île-des-Vannes in L’Île-Saint-Denis.

“The Paris Lights playing their first home game tomorrow is a moment we’ve been building toward since the very beginning,” said AFLE COO and managing director Moritz Heisler. “Having Sport en France bring that moment to fans across France, live, free, and on a channel that genuinely cares about the sports it covers, makes it even more special. French fans deserve a front row seat to what the AFLE is building, and now they have one.”

Sport en France director Romain Schindler explained that the birth of a new competition, regardless of the game, is something that his company enjoys being a part of.

“With the AFLE, we’re not just broadcasting a new competition – we’re opening a door to a world of passionate fans who live American football at 200 percent,” Schindler said. “At Sport en France, we love these kinds of stories: leagues being built from the ground up, teams launching, fans coming together. Our role is to amplify that energy, share it with as many people as possible and make every match a moment where you feel right at home – whether you’re discovering the sport for the first time or have followed it for years.”

The French agreement follows a series of broadcast-related announcements from the Hamburg-based league in recent weeks, as the AFLE attempts to establish distribution across its core markets. Earlier this month, it confirmed a partnership with Polish broadcaster Polsat, which will televise every Wrocław Panthers game throughout the 2026 season, both home and away, and gives the Panthers a national television platform in one of Europe’s strongest American football markets.

“Bringing every single Wroclaw Panthers game — home and away — to Polish television audiences is a defining moment for our league and for the sport in this country,” Heisler commented. “The Panthers have one of the most energetic and dedicated fan bases in European football, and they deserve to follow their team without barriers.”

The AFLE has also sought to standardise the presentation of its product across all eight franchises by appointing DMC Production Germany as its international television production partner. Under the agreement, DMC will produce the league’s international world feed throughout the inaugural season, covering games in France, England, Poland, Italy, Switzerland and Austria, while deploying a production model built around up to 10 cameras, super slow-motion technology and wireless gimbal cameras.

“The AFLE 2026 season marks an important milestone for the future of European sports production,” explained Holger Enßlin, managing director of DMC Production Germany GmbH. “With our scalable production approach and the intelligent integration of remote and on-site workflows, we are shaping a new generation of live broadcasts, consistently high in quality, efficient, and future-oriented.

Heisler added that, from day one, the AFLE was commited to producing coverage of its games at the highest possible level, with the partnership with DMC a direct expression of that commitment.

“With a multi-camera set-up that captures every angle of the game and a production model built for the scale and complexity of a pan-European league, we are setting a new benchmark for American football on television in Europe,” Heisler claimed. “We want every fan watching at home to feel the intensity, the speed and the quality of what is happening on that field, and DMC gives us the tools to do exactly that.”

Away from broadcasting, the league also announced a strategic partnership with gaming consultancy SCCG Management, with founder and CEO Stephen Crystal being appointed as senior vice-president (gaming). The agreement will see SCCG Management lead the development of AFLE’s gaming, sports betting and fan-engagement strategy as the league seeks to establish additional commercial revenue streams alongside its media growth.

“This is a rare opportunity to help build a professional sports league with gaming and fan engagement fully integrated into its foundation,” Crystal commented. “The AFLE has the structure, vision and market timing to become a major force in international sports. We’re excited to lead the development of its gaming ecosystem and establish partnerships that drive meaningful, long-term value for the league and its stakeholders.”