Last year, ABC televised all Monday Night Football games, due to Hollywood work stoppages. This year, ABC is adding more simulcasts because, frankly, pro football performs better than anything Hollywood can create.
Via the Associated Press, six more games will be televised by ESPN and ABC. The extra games will happen on October 21 (Ravens at Buccaneers), November 4 (Buccaneers at Chiefs), November 18 (Texans at Cowboys), November 25 (Ravens at Chargers), and December 23 (Saints at Packers).
In other words, ABC will have a Monday night game every week for the rest of the regular season except November 11 (Dolphins at Rams) and December 2 (Browns at Broncos).
The move is all about ratings. That’s good for Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN, and for the NFL, which benefits from a broader audience.
It hurts the NFL’s broadcast partners (NBC, CBS, Fox), which now face stiffer three-letter competition on Monday nights.
