The cult hit “The X-Files,” which Fox announced in May would be moving to Sundays this fall, will start the season in its old Friday-at-9 p.m. slot, according to the network’s entertainment president, John Matoian.

He confirmed that because of a conflict on Sundays with Fox’s telecasting of postseason baseball, “The X-Files,” one of TV’s most talked-about series, will start the ‘96-97 season on Fridays and won’t make the move to Sunday until late October or early November.

The “X-Files” schedule shift has been endorsed by the advertising community as a “really smart” ploy, Matoian said, pointing to the promotional possibilities during Fox’s Sunday football coverage and the fact that Sunday night attracts the most viewers of any night. Still, some industry observers have suggested that the move is probably the riskiest maneuver for any network this coming season.