NFL on ABC

• 1. Early Broadcast History

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  The American Broadcasting Company began televising professional football in 1948 with a "game of the week" format. That same year, ABC broadcast the NFL Championship Game between the Chicago Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles. Harry Wismer provided commentary for that historic matchup. The following year, the network aired the 1949 NFL Championship Game between the Eagles and Los Angeles Rams. This game was only available to viewers on the West Coast due to technical limitations preventing live transmission from coast to coast. In 1950, ABC covered another playoff game featuring the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns. The 1950 NFL Championship Game between the Browns and Rams reached Los Angeles but not Chicago. Beginning in 1953, ABC signed contracts with the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals. They added the Washington Redskins starting in 1954. Red Grange and Bill Fay typically called home games for the Bears and Cardinals in Chicago. For Washington Redskins games, ABC used Bob Wolff and Dutch Bergman as their broadcast crew. By 1955, the Redskins left ABC for syndicated regional coverage sponsored by Amoco Gasoline. That same year, ABC picked up games featuring the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers for Pacific Time Zone affiliates. These broadcasts were handled by teams like Bob Fouts and Frankie Albert or Bob Kelley and Bill Brundige. ABC also televised the 1955 Thanksgiving Day game between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions with Harry Wismer and Budd Lynch. ABC's involvement ended the following year when CBS acquired most team rights while the Browns formed their own network.

• 2. Monday Night Football Era

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  ABC launched Monday Night Football on the 21st of September 1970, with a game between the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns. Howard Cosell, Keith Jackson, and Don Meredith anchored the first broadcast from the booth. Frank Gifford replaced Jackson in 1971 to form the iconic trio that defined the show. The series became the longest-running prime-time sports program in television history. It frequently ranked number one in Nielsen ratings during its early decades. The dynamic between Cosell, Meredith, and Gifford distinguished Monday Night Football as a unique spectacle. Their colorful broadcasting style ushered in an era of more vibrant sports coverage. Fred Williamson was selected as a commentator in 1974 but was relieved of duties at the start of the regular season. He became the first MNF personality not to complete a full season. Alex Karras replaced him and served three years before leaving after the 1983 season. During a the 8th of December 1980 game between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, Cosell broke news that John Lennon had been shot and killed. This moment stunned a nationwide audience watching live. From 1983 to 1986, ABC also aired Friday night games in Week 16 alongside the traditional Monday slot. In April 1987, Dan Dierdorf joined Al Michaels and Frank Gifford on Monday Night Football. He spent twelve seasons there before resigning in early 1999.

• 3. Super Bowl Rotations

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  ABC entered the Super Bowl rotation for the first time with Super Bowl XIX in 1985. A second contract renewal gave them rights to Super Bowl XXII in 1988. Don Meredith retired from sportscasting after the 1984 season following Howard Cosell's departure. His final broadcast was Super Bowl XIX with Frank Gifford and Joe Theismann. Super Bowl XXV marked the first time ABC did not air the halftime show live. Instead, they televised an ABC News report anchored by Peter Jennings about the Gulf War progress. The actual halftime show aired later on tape delay around 10:40 EST. Brent Musburger hosted all pregame, halftime, and postgame events for Super Bowl XXIX. Dick Vermeil served as his regular color commentator while Boomer Esiason contributed as a former New York Jets quarterback. This would be Musburger's final Super Bowl hosting duty before Disney integrated ESPN and ABC Sports. Super Bowl XXXIV closed out the 30th anniversary season of Monday Night Football in 1999. It was also the first Super Bowl aired in high definition using 720p format with 5.1 Dolby Digital audio. Al Michaels called this game alongside Boomer Esiason since Dan Dierdorf had left the booth. Super Bowl XL in 2006 became ABC's final NFL broadcast under their original contract. It was the first Super Bowl where every aspect of the game itself aired in HD.

• 4. Controversies and Production Shifts

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  During the first half of a the 5th of September 1983 Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, Howard Cosell made a comment about wide receiver Alvin Garrett. He said "That little monkey gets loose doesn't he?" The remark ignited a racial controversy that laid groundwork for Cosell's eventual departure from Monday Night Football at the end of 1983. Reverend Joseph Lowery, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, denounced the comment as racist and demanded an apology. Jesse Jackson, Muhammad Ali, and Alvin Garrett himself offered supportive statements despite the backlash. Cosell explained his comment referred to Garrett's small stature rather than race, citing usage of the term for his grandchildren. Video footage from a 1972 preseason game showed Cosell calling Caucasian player Mike Adamle a "little monkey." On the 18th of November 1985, Joe Theismann suffered a comminuted compound fracture during a sack by Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson. Reverse-angle instant replay showed Theismann's leg bones broken midway between knee and ankle. ABC screened this graphic replay multiple times despite its disturbing nature. Frank Gifford repeatedly urged viewers to exercise discretion while replays aired. This decision remains one of the most controversial in-game television production choices in NFL history. In 2000, producer Don Ohlmeyer returned from retirement to revitalize ratings. His changes included new graphics, sideline Steadicams, and music packages. He made the controversial decision to hire comedian Dennis Miller alongside Al Michaels and Dan Fouts. That experiment widely failed and contributed to Ohlmeyer leaving after just one season.

• 5. ESPN Integration and Relocation

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  Following Super Bowl XL on the 5th of February 2006, Monday Night Football moved exclusively to ESPN under a new multi-network deal. Disney integrated the ABC Sports division into ESPN Inc. that same year. Since then, all ABC sports programming has been produced by ESPN under the ESPN on ABC branding. After a cable-only Wild Card playoff game experiment became the least-watched NFL playoff game in six years, ESPN announced on the 12th of May 2015, that ABC would simulcast their Wild Card telecasts starting with the 2015-16 playoffs. This marked ABC's first NFL appearance since Super Bowl XL. Beginning with the 2017 season, ABC added regular coverage by simulcasting ESPN's Pro Bowl broadcasts. The only exception occurred in 2021 when the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2018, ABC began simulcasting ESPN's final day of the NFL Draft. They introduced a College GameDay branded version for the first two days starting in 2019. During the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine, ABC presented a two-hour special featuring quarterback and wide receiver drills. It was the first time the combine aired on broadcast television. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Monday Night Football, ESPN announced their Week 2 game on the 21st of September 2020, would be simulcast on ABC. This represented the network's first MNF regular season game since 2005.

• 6. Modern Simulcast Strategy

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  Before the 2021 season, ESPN renewed its Monday Night Football contract allowing ABC to simulcast Saturday doubleheaders beginning that year. Starting in 2022, ABC began exclusively airing additional Monday Night Football games expanding to at least three in 2023. ESPN gained rights to divisional playoff games starting in 2023 alongside future Super Bowls simulcast on ABC. The network continued simulcasting Wild Card games and the Pro Bowl with ESPN+. For the 2024 season, ABC aired eighteen total games including twelve regular season simulcasts and three exclusive broadcasts. They scheduled seventeen games for the 2025 season with thirteen regular season simulcasts and two exclusive games. These exclusive games will move to NFL Network beginning in 2026 assuming regulatory approval. In February 2022, ABC aired the yearly NFL Honors awards ceremony usually broadcast by the Super Bowl host network. NBC instead chose to air the 2022 Winter Olympics. On the 5th of March 2022, ABC presented a special edition of NFL Live covering the NFL Combine. During the 2023 season, ABC announced they would simulcast Monday Night Football every week due to Hollywood labor disputes. They aired twenty-one games totaling fifteen regular season simulcasts, four exclusive games, and two postseason simulcasts. This represented their highest output since 2005.

• 7. Alternative League Coverage

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  From 1960 until 1964, ABC broadcast approximately thirty-seven American Football League regular season games plus championship and all-star events. These typically aired regionally on fifteen consecutive Sundays and Thanksgiving Day. The deal became the first cooperative television plan where proceeds divided equally among member clubs. From 1983 to 1985, ABC televised United States Football League action including Sunday afternoon game-of-the-week slots and prime time evening broadcasts. The contract required scheduling three minimum Sunday games with one guaranteed national telecast. Total USFL package called for twenty-one telecasts overall. In 1991 and 1992, ABC broadcast select World League of American Football games mostly airing Sunday afternoons. They also aired the 1991 World Bowl featuring Brent Musburger play-by-play and Dick Vermeil color commentary. From 1998 to 2002, ABC broadcast ArenaBowl under Wide World of Sports umbrella. Mike Adamle handled play-by-play duties in 1998 while Mike Gleason took over from 1999 through 2000. Brent Musburger returned as play-by-play voice in 2001 before Tim Brant covered 2002. In 2020, ABC broadcast XFL games scheduled weekly on Saturdays and four Sundays. Only five Saturday games and one Sunday game aired due to pandemic restrictions. On the 17th of May 2022, Disney announced the XFL would return to ABC when the league resumed play in 2023. ABC aired eight games including the 2023 Championship Game in primetime. Following the merger of XFL and USFL into UFL, ABC acquired partial television rights alongside Fox Sports. For the 2024 season, ABC aired nine regular season games plus one division championship.