ABC will air more Monday Night Football games than usual during the 2023 season. This increase in games isn’t expected to impact those who typically watch Monday Night Football on ESPN.
As is usually the case each season, NFL coverage is split over multiple days and requires access to mutliple streaming services. When it comes to Monday Night Football, games are traditionally available to watch live on ESPN, with a few games also available to watch on ABC.
While that’s also the case during the 2023 season, ABC is stepping up its coverage through the addition of 10 more games. While good news for those with access to ABC, it is worth noting that this is not understood to be a permanent change.
Instead, and according to multiple reports, the decision to increase MNF coverage on ABC was made in response to the ongoing Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. Basically, Monday Night Football is being used to plug programming gaps that have surfaced due to the strikes.
As mentioned, the increase of games on ABC won’t impact those who tend to watch as ESPN, as all the additional games due to be shown during the 2023 season will be simulcast on both ABC and ESPN. As Sports Business Journal explains, 15 games will be simulcast on ABC and ESPN in total.
Naturally, with these games available to watch on both networks, it is expected that viewership for Monday Night Football should increase.
In addition, ABC will carry four exclusive games, while three games will still be exclusive to ESPN, and one game will be exclusively shown on ESPN Plus.
For those planning on tuning in to any of the games, Monday Night Football is available to watch on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) on ABC and ESPN.
