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ESPN Monday Night Football Also Airing on ABC for Fall Schedule Boost

Disney is looking to ESPN's Monday Night Football to help boost ABC's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes-impacted fall television schedule.

Published Mon, 25 Sep 2023 20:17:08 -0500

by Tom Chang

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It seems Monday Night Football will have a greater presence in its original home in ABC, given how much the WGA & SAG-AFTRA strikes affected the network's fall lineup. The Disney-owned networks will simulcast the games on both platforms: the content-starved ABC on broadcast and ESPN on cable. The simulcast is nothing new, as Disney has been doing the same on both networks with a select few games since the 2020 season. Games added for the 2023 season include the Seattle Seahawks at New York Giants on October 2nd, Green Bay Packers at Las Vegas Raiders on October 9th, Dallas Cowboys at the Los Angeles Chargers on October 16th, San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings on October 23rd, Raiders at Detroit Lions on October 30th, Chargers at New York Jets on November 6th, Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills on November 13th, Chicago Bears at Vikings on November 27th, Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars on December 4th, and Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots on December 18th. It will be interesting to see how the fall schedule could be impacted again now that the WGA and AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement – and a renewed push is underway for the AMPTP to lock in a deal with SAG-AFTRA sooner rather than later.

Monday Night Football History on ABC

Not all the games are simulcast, like the New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers on September 18th, tonight's Los Angeles Rams at Bengals, and the upcoming Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins on December 11th. MNF ran on ABC from 1970-2005 before permanently jumping to ESPN in 2006 with commentary by former NFL on Fox personalities Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
The move makes sense as networks scramble for original content relying on a mix of reality television. On ABC, the reality series Dancing with the Stars moved to Tuesday nights starting September 26th, and Bachelor in Paradise and The Golden Bachelor moved to Thursdays starting September 28th. Original streaming TV shows from Disney+, like Ms. Marvel and American Born Chinese, have also made their debut on ABC.