No more Monday Night Football on ABC

[BERIGAN]

I bet ABC is a bit mad at their little brother right about now....

'Monday Night Football' moving to ESPN

Deal to cost cabler $1.1 bil over 8 years

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

The NFL's 'Monday Night Football' is making the move to cable after 35 years on ABC.

The NFL's "Monday Night Football," a hallmark of television sports programming since the days of Howard Cosell, is leaving ABC after 35 years for ESPN starting with the 2006 season.

The NFL's new broadcast deal also brings football back to NBC for the first time in six years. NBC will take over the Sunday night games previously broadcast on ESPN, and plans to use a flexible scheduling model that ensures meaningful games will played in that slot late in the season.

The Monday night move to basic cable, which includes an earlier start time of 8:40 p.m. eastern, is expected to cost ESPN $1.1 billion over eight years, two sources familiar with the deals told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

NBC will get the Sunday night package for $600 million over six years, according to the sources. The network will also get the Super Bowl in 2009 and 2012 as part of the deal, one of the sources said.

The NFL will continue to show all cable games on free, over-the air television in home markets. That means that local stations will carry ESPN's Monday night games in the cities of the teams involved.

The moves leave ABC -- which reshaped sports broadcasting by turning football into a prime-time ratings draw with the advent of "Monday Night Football" in 1970 -- as the only major network without NFL football.

ABC and ESPN are both subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Co. The deal with ESPN, which currently carries games every Sunday night and sometimes on Thursday, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

"A great deal with the NFL is the best deal you can get in television," said NBC sports chairman Dick Ebersol. He said the network hasn't started working on finding anchors for the Sunday night broadcast.

"We're celebrating for a day," Ebersol said. "Then I'm sure we'll get a lot of calls."

Last month, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said during the NFL meetings in Hawaii that the Monday night move was a strong possibility. ABC, which has been losing money on the package despite high ratings, had been balking at the NFL's asking price.

NBC has been struggling in prime-time this season, and even risks an unprecedented fall into fourth place in the ratings. ABC's newfound ratings strength with "Desperate Housewives" on Sunday nights has been particularly damaging.

NBC will devote its entire Sunday night prime-time lineup to the NFL. The Sunday night games will start at 8:15 p.m. eastern and include flexible scheduling for the final seven weeks of the season, details of which will be developed by the league.

That issue has become more pressing since parity caused by the salary cap has resulted in teams moving up and down the standings annually, leaving bad teams that were strong the previous season in prime time and good teams that were bad the past season off of it.

CBS and Fox already have agreed to pay a total of $8 billion over six years for the rights to Sunday afternoon games.

The NFL is still considering an eight game late-season package of Thursday and Saturday night games on cable and satellite. Tagliabue has said the NFL's own new network could show some or all of those games.

Associated Press Writer David Bauder also contributed to this

http://www.variety.com/VR1117921273.html

Edited April 19, 2005 by BERIGAN

[JSngry]

Wow...the end of an era.

[rostasi]

Finally!

[JSngry]

So, where's Madden going to go?

If he goes to NBC and gets paired with Dick Enberg, I think I shall blow chunks.

[Dave James]

I don't really care what network does the NFL games. What I do care about is the announcers. I absolutely cannot stand the current ESPN grouping, the one that features the NFL equivalent of The Bickersons, Paul McGuire and Joe Theisman. They just wear me out. If I'm watching a game on ESPN, I have to turn down the sound. And the lead guy, Mike Patrick, isn't any better. This guy never met a superlative he didn't like. The uncrowned king of hyperbole.

Up over and out.

Edited April 19, 2005 by Dave James

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Does that mean we're finally rid of Hank Williams, Jr?? Excellent!! Now if they'd just get rid of domed stadiums and ditch all the Johnny-come-lately teams (Texans, Jaguars, Panthers, Titans) we'd be moving in the right direction!!

[JSngry]

I easily avoided Hank Williams, Jr, since I never got situated in front of the TV until just a few seconds on either side of the opening kickoff.

Agreed too about the current ESPN NFL crew. What a bunch of second-stringers, except for Paul McGuire, who's always sat well with me. But Theissman & Patrick? Geesh...

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Does that mean we're finally rid of Hank Williams, Jr?? Excellent!! Now if they'd just get rid of domed stadiums and ditch all the Johnny-come-lately teams (Texans, Jaguars, Panthers, Titans) we'd be moving in the right direction!!

eggs ackley! they've been trying to make the NFL into the NASCAR for some time now. unfortunately the brahman Pats keep winning the laurels with no room left for the folks below the maison dixierre. git rid of all them teams listed above and don't forget the Ravens!

what hank williams jr. has to do with football has been a mystery to me for years. since trumpp has been giving much royalty change to the O'Jays maybe they could sign up - at least they're from Canton!

and you would think with all the technology available we could bring back Dandy Don and Alex Karras and no one would ever know.

[catesta]

Wow...the end of an era.

Yep.

[Noj]

I don't really care what network does the NFL games. What I do care about is the announcers. I absolutely cannot stand the current ESPN grouping, the one that features the NFL equivalent of The Bickersons, Paul McGuire and Joe Theisman. They just wear me out. If I'm watching a game on ESPN, I have to turn down the sound. And the lead guy, Mike Patrick, isn't any better. This guy never met a superlative he didn't like. The uncrowned king of hyperbole.

Up over and out.

The announcers are why I watch most sports on mute until the last few minutes of the game.

[rostasi]

what hank williams jr. has to do with football has been a mystery to me for years....

It's called "The Bubba Factor."

[Soul Stream]

Good. Now I don't have to wait forever to catch the Nightline. Monday Night Football stinks and should be the arch enemy of every working musician who has ever had to play on a Monday night during football season, for two reasons...

1. Nobody's at the gig

2. You play underdeath a TV set with the stinkin' game on, people only whoop and hollar at the game and ignore all musicians. Many musicians have killed themselves after a gig on Monday Night Football statistics bear out.

So...yeah...

[Jim Dye]

Does that mean we're finally rid of Hank Williams, Jr??    Excellent!!      Now if they'd just get rid of domed stadiums and ditch all the Johnny-come-lately teams (Texans, Jaguars, Panthers, Titans) we'd be moving in the right direction!! 

HEY! The Titans are johnny come latelys? Ever hear of the Houston Oilers?

Edited April 19, 2005 by Jim Dye

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

But Theissman & Patrick? Geesh...

I dunno....the thing about Theismann is that he seems to be one of these guys who's not pre-disposed toward mouthing cheerleader lines at every turn and'll regularly say: 'hey, that was not a good move'. His equivalent in the golf world is Johnny Miller. While the herd is out there jumping all over the 3-wood that landed on the green, spun off a trap lip and wound up 2 feet from the pin, with a collective 'OOoooooo, what a spectacular shot!!', Miller says 'Ya know, I question that club selection....had he not caught that lip he could have easily skipped over that dry green and into the pond. He should have used a low iron and come in around the front of the green and then......". Theismann's got that goin' on too.

Edited April 19, 2005 by Son-of-a-Weizen

[JSngry]

Hell, when I'm playing a gig and MNF is on, I'm usually watching while I'm playing.

Same for the World Series, etc. I saw Buckner's flub right in the middle of "Soul Man".

Once played a series of blues gigs in 1983 during the MLB playoffs w/a harmonica who was a serious White Sox fan. This was before the Watchmans and all that, so, this cat brought a 12" portable B&W to the gig, set it up on the stage, and had it playing the entire gig. Hell, I watched that too!

And as far as MNF and music goes, some of the best MNF and musical experiences I've had were in South Dallas bars, yeah, you gotta wait until the game's over, but the passion displayed during the game gets carried over to the enjoyment of the music afterwards, and that passion is nothing if not, uh, "intense".

The problem is not sports, the problem is fans, and fans come in all types. Some of the hippest musicians I know are extreme sports fans. As are some of the biggest dickwads. So it just goes to show ya'.

[JSngry]

But Theissman & Patrick? Geesh...

I dunno....the thing about Theismann is that he seems to be one of these guys who's not pre-disposed toward mouthing cheerleader lines at every turn and'll regularly say: 'hey, that was not a good move'. His equivalent in the golf world is Johnny Miller. While the herd is out there jumping all over the 3-wood that landed on the green, spun off a trap lip and wound up 2 feet from the pin, with a collective 'OOoooooo, what a spectacular shot!!', Miller says 'Ya know, I question that club selection....had he not caught that lip he could have easily skipped over that dry green and into the pond. He should have used a low iron and come in around the front of the green and then......". Theismann's got that goin' on too.

Yes, he does have that goin' on.

And on.

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Etc.

[Ron S]

I think you missed one.

[Dan Gould]

Good. Now I don't have to wait forever to catch the Nightline.

Man, you're really a news cycle or two behind ... Ted Koppell is done with ABC and is actively shopping his resume. There won't be no Nightline by the time ABC drops MNF.

And anyway, there will still be games on Monday night to drive musicians to murderous rage. That TV over your head will just be tuned to ESPN.

***************************

and as far as the whole big-brother ABC being upset - c'mon. This was a corporate decision to let MNF go to the sports network. It still stays in the family, and the fact is, MNF has had declining ratings for quite a few years now. I'm not at all surprised ABC let ESPN get the deal.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

[Jazzmoose]

Haven't watched a whole game since Cosell left...

[7/4]

Hell, I never even watched a whole game.

[Brad]

I hope that at the very least they get rid of the ESPN crew. Those guys are awful. I actually turn the TV down rather than hear them. They'd be well advised to use Michaels and Madden (although I'm not sure he'd like being only on cable).

[Free For All]

I think I shall blow chunks.

Meet "Chunks". B-)

[Jazz Kat]

O no! No monday night football!!!!!!!!!!

could care less....

[Jazzmoose]

Funny, I couldn't care less...