• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, February 11, 2010

After the Arena Football League filed for bankruptcy with former broadcasters NBC and ESPN as creditors, a new AFL has emerged with its games to be carried by the NFL Network starting this spring.

The NFL Networks will offer a "Game of the Week" on Fridays starting in April, en route to offering a championship game in August. The AFL said the broadcasts will "feature specialized in-game audio techniques."

Former CBS sports executive Neal Pilson represented the AFL in the negotiations with the NFL. The AFL will handle ad sales for the games, with the NFL Network coordinating with it on production.

The new AFL will include 15 teams in markets as large as Chicago and as small as Spokane, Washington.

Given its financial troubles, the previous AFL canceled its 2009 season and filed for bankruptcy last August. ESPN owned a stake in the league and had televised it since 2007.

NBC broadcast the league from 2003 through 2006. In a New York State Supreme Court case, it claimed the league owed it $1.6 million. In separate bankruptcy proceedings, it joined ESPN as unsecured creditors.