ABC added “Monday Night Football” back to its regular primetime schedule this week, marking the return of Monday football to free network television.
Ordinarily seen exclusively on the ESPN cable network, “Monday Night Football” will now air every week of the NFL season thanks to a move by both networks’ parent company, Disney.
Disney company executives reached out to the NFL to simulcast “Monday Night Football” from ESPN to ABC to help fill programming holes created by the continuing SAG-AFTRA strike, Variety reported.
After 36 years of airing “Monday Night Football,” ABC lost its popular broadcast after ESPN paid more than $1 billion for exclusive broadcast rights in 2006. Since then, ABC has only aired “Monday Night Football” periodically during the season. Before this season kicked off, ABC only had rights for nine games (four exclusive and five in partnership with ESPN), according to the Associated Press.
Thanks to the conversations between Disney and the NFL, ABC will air football all 18 weeks of the season and simulcast two playoff games.
The 2023 “MNF” schedule
On Sept. 25, the NFL will have two “Monday Night Football” games on the air. The early game starts at 7:15 p.m. and will be shown on ABC and ESPN+. The later game will air on ESPN and ESPN2 at 8:15 p.m. The rest of the season’s Monday games will start at 8:15 p.m. and air on ABC and ESPN.
Here is the full schedule of “Monday Night Football” games set to air on ABC this NFL season:
- Sept. 25: Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7:15 p.m. this week only)
- Oct. 2: Seattle Seahawks at New York Giants
- Oct. 9: Green Bay Packers at the Las Vegas Raiders
- Oct. 16: Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Chargers
- Oct. 23: San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings
- Oct. 30: Las Vegas Raiders at Detroit Lions
- Nov. 6: Los Angeles Chargers at New York Jets
- Nov. 13: Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills
- Nov. 20: Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Cheifs
- Nov. 27: Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
- Dec. 4: Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars
- Dec. 11: Green Bay Packers at New York Giants
- Dec. 18: Kansas City Cheifs at New England Patriots
- Dec. 25: Baltimore Ravens at San Francisco 49ers
Note: Teams playing can change based on NFL scheduling shifts during the season.
“Monday Night Football” on ABC is a major win for football fans who don’t want to pay extra to watch their favorite sport. Over-the-air TV users have already been able to enjoy NFL games every week, but only on Sunday afternoons and evenings. This new simulcast deal brings more football to free TV.
How to watch “Monday Night Football” for free
You must get a TV antenna if you don’t have one already. With a one-time cost of anywhere between $30 and $150 (depending on the distance range you prefer), you can access countless programs, including sports, local news, movies, reality TV, and more.
Once you install the TV antenna inside your home, attic or roof according to your antenna’s instructions, you’ll have access to free, over-the-air television stations, including ABC.
If you want an interactive guide to all your programming and the ability to record your favorite over-the-air shows, consider getting the new Tablo device to enhance your entertainment experience. And, with its whole-house connectivity, you can watch the game on any smart device connected to your home Wi-Fi network.
Thanks to this digital technology, you don’t have to miss a single kickoff or play on Monday nights.
