Why Is 'Monday Night Football' Not on ABC? Here's the Gridiron Low-Down

There's nothing quite like tuning in for an iconic evening of Monday Night Football and getting ready to watch your team fight for their seasonal lives.

But over the past few years, the "where" of watching Monday Night Football has been a little up in the air. After Disney made a shift to playing more games on ABC, they suddenly seem to have shifted away from that plan. So, why is Monday Night Football not on ABC anymore? Here's the low-down.

ABC has long been the home of Monday Night Football. From 1970 to 2005, NFL fans could reliably tune in to the broadcast network to watch their favorite fall weekly event. Yet everything changed when the series moved to ESPN in 2006.

Although fans weren't necessarily thrilled at the shift, ESPN was a reliable name in sports broadcasting, so there was hope that the transition would be smooth. However, fans were disgruntled because now they needed to subscribe to a new network after being able to use the broadcast network ABC for decades. Nonetheless, Monday Night Football had a new home.

Then, over the last four years, things got a little weird. In 2020, ABC simulcast some games with ESPN, before the games shifted back to ESPN. However, last year, the games returned primarily to ABC. This was due to the Hollywood writer's strike, which meant that typical prime-time shows on ABC were not happening, so they needed a line-up, and MNF showed up to save the day.

This year, few games are being simulcast on ABC and ESPN with fewer still being aired solely on ABC, and the reason comes down to one thing: money.

It might seem like a simple answer, but that's what it comes down to. This year, ABC and ESPN will simulcast six games, and ABC will air an additional three games that won't appear on ESPN. But the vast majority of games will air on ESPN.

This is because ESPN is a subscription network, which means that people have to pay extra for the channel. So for NFL fans who appreciated the temporary shift back to ABC, this is unwelcome news.

Because MNF was free to watch on ABC for decades, people are disgruntled by the fact that parent company Disney wants to nickel and dime fans just to tune in. Disney, however, seems unmoved by their plight.

Disney rakes in about $45 million in ad deals per game, which means that even if you look at no other dollar sign in the equation, each game is a gold mine for the company. So it makes sense that they want to pull in every penny.

Unfortunately, that means less convenience for the fans and an elite pay-to-play viewing system that excludes people who can't afford it.

And while 2024 offers a little bit of relief for fans who can't afford the subscription, it's all part of the shift back to ESPN.