Television companies are continuing to navigate through the Hollywood writer's strike, — and Disney (DIS) -) is now attempting to leverage one of its strongest assets.
ABC will now be airing 10 additional "Monday Night Football" games, putting a total of 19 games on the TV network, according to the Sports Business Journal.
Related: ESPN, Disney challenging CBS with new alternative NFL broadcast
Of the 19 games, 15 will be simulcast across ABC and ESPN. ABC will have four games exclusive to it, ESPN will have three games, and ESPN+ will have one exclusive game.
The move is reportedly only for this year, driven by the writer's strike that has cut down on programming for many of the major television networks.
More ESPN:
- ESPN officially announces overhaul to its broadcasting lineup for NBA coverage
- ESPN reportedly wanted so much more than it actually got in the ESPN Bet deal with Penn
- ESPN is exploring a unique partnership with NBA and NFL, report says
The first "Monday Night Football" broadcast of the season on Sept. 11 was the most-watched MNF game of all-time grossing 22.6 million average viewers across all of Disney's platforms (ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+, NFL+, ESPN Deportes). The game featured the highly-anticipated debut of New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but saw Rodgers go down with an injury after just four snaps.
It was confirmed later on that Rodgers had suffered a torn achilles that would sideline him for the rest of the NFL season.
Get investment guidance from trusted portfolio managers without the management fees. Sign up for Action Alerts PLUS now.
