2008 Woodie Awards
Monday Night Football Switch
Jake Kohlman
Issue date: 4/22/05 Section: Sports
For 35 years NFL football has been a fixture on ABC on Monday nights. That is about to change though as the NFL and ESPN announced this week that starting with the 2006 season Monday Night Football will on be on ESPN.
Other changes to the NFL TV schedule were announced as well. NBC Sports, which lost NFL broadcasting rights to CBS in 1997, acquired the rights to the NFL's Sunday night game. NBC reportedly is paying $600 million a year to get back the NFL and also won the rights to the 2009 and 2012 Super Bowls.
ESPN's acquisition of Monday Night Football caused a stir because it takes the NFL's premiere broadcasting outlet off network TV.
The NFL is still looking to sell the rights to a future package of Thursday/Saturday games, though NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has floated the possibility of showing those games on the NFL Network. As of next season ABC will be the only major network without NFL games.
Other changes to the NFL TV schedule were announced as well. NBC Sports, which lost NFL broadcasting rights to CBS in 1997, acquired the rights to the NFL's Sunday night game. NBC reportedly is paying $600 million a year to get back the NFL and also won the rights to the 2009 and 2012 Super Bowls.
ESPN's acquisition of Monday Night Football caused a stir because it takes the NFL's premiere broadcasting outlet off network TV.
The NFL is still looking to sell the rights to a future package of Thursday/Saturday games, though NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has floated the possibility of showing those games on the NFL Network. As of next season ABC will be the only major network without NFL games.