ABC will air five Wednesday night NBA games originally scheduled for ESPN. The games were originally the early half of a doubleheader on ESPN.
Additionally, the start times of those five games moving to ABC will slide to 8:30 p.m. ET, leading to an overlap with the five games still remaining on ESPN.
Here’s the schedule of the five games moving to ABC.
- January 3: Chicago Bulls @ New York Knicks
- January 10: New Orleans Pelicans @ Golden State Warriors
- January 17: Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Lakers
- January 24: Oklahoma City Thunder @ San Antonio Spurs
- January 31: Phoenix Suns @ Brooklyn Nets
These five Wednesday games, along with the five Wednesday games remaining on ESPN, are not exclusives, meaning they’ll air on RSNs in the local markets involved.
Here are the five games that will remain on ESPN, and the start times for those five.
- January 3, 10 p.m. ET: Miami Heat @ Los Angeles Lakers
- January 10, 10 p.m. ET: Denver Nuggets @ Utah Jazz
- January 17, 7:30 p.m. ET: Milwaukee Bucks @ Cleveland Cavaliers
- January 24, 9:30 p.m. ET: Phoenix Suns @ Dallas Mavericks
- January 31, 10 p.m. ET: Milwaukee Bucks @ Portland Trail Blazers
ABC’s Saturday primetime schedule begins on January 27 with a tripleheader, continuing through March 16.
Moving the games helps ABC fill out its schedule for the month of January. Through November, the network is scheduled to air Celebrity Jeopardy, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, and The $100,000 Pyramid on Wednesday nights. While the WGA strike is over, the SAG-AFTRA strike is still ongoing. Until that is resolved, new episodes of scripted shows won’t be coming off the line and networks like ABC will be craving any kind of content they can get.
Given that uncertainty, it wouldn’t surprise me if NHL games were moved from ESPN to ABC in January. ESPN is scheduled to air Thursday NHL games in primetime on January 4, 11, and 18 along with a Friday game on January 26. This fall, ABC is airing The Golden Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise on Thursday nights.
[NBA, image via ESPN]
