‘Monday Night Football’ Books Full-Season Work On ABC

For the very first time in 17 years, ABC will have a complete season of on its airwaves.

The broadcast network, which had numerous NFL matches on its slate currently for the fall, will simulcast the staying part of the MNF schedule (10 video games’ worth) with ESPN. The relocation will likely increase Monday Night Football’ s total audience over video games that are just on ESPN– the Sept. 11 season opener on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 drew the most significant audience because the franchise’s relocate to cable television– and will likewise finish what had actually been a rather fluid ABC schedule for the fall, as it and other networks attempt to set a complete week while authors and stars stay on strike.

ABC simulcast the MNF season opener on Sept. 11 with ESPN and will air one half of a two-game Monday slate each of the next 2 weeks and on Dec. 11. It was likewise formerly set up to simulcast video games on Nov. 20 and Dec. 25.

In addition to the Monday night video games, ABC will simulcast a primetime video game on Saturday, Dec. 30 and a doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 6, in the last weekend of the NFL’s routine season. ABC and ESPN will likewise bring playoff contests on Jan. 15 and Jan. 20 or 21 (all of which were formerly revealed).

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell meant broadcasters boosting their NFL programs throughout the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes. “NFL material is the very best truth tv going– I understand individuals state I script the season, however I do not,” he informed The Hollywood Press Reporter for a current cover story. “There’s going to be chances throughout this amount of time, which is regrettable, however it exists, and I believe our material is going to have more chances throughout this fall season. It’s reputable material, and it’s reputable from a marketing perspective.”

ABC was the unique house of Monday Night Football from its beginning in 1971 through 2005; it relocated to Disney brother or sister ESPN in 2006. The broadcast network has actually gone back to the MNF fold a handful of times in the previous number of seasons, simulcasting a couple of video games over each of the previous 3 seasons and airing unique broadcasts on doubleheader nights in 2022 and this year.

The network had an opening on Mondays after moving Dancing With destiny to Tuesday nights, among numerous schedule relocations ABC has actually made in the previous couple of weeks. ABC is relying exclusively on unscripted, news and sports programs for the fall as the authors and stars strikes have actually stopped production on scripted series. The 2 unions are looking for much better pay and residuals, defenses versus expert system trespassing on their tasks and more openness with streaming information, to name a few things, from Disney and other business represented by the Alliance of Movie and Tv Producers.