Why is the NBA on ABC tonight? How writers’ and actors’ strikes led to Wednesday games in January on network
Throughout January, NBA fans can mark their calendars with another weekly primetime matchup to get accustomed to.
Ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season, ESPN flexed five Wednesday night primetime games to network television for NBA Wednesdays on ABC. The games, which are scheduled to air at 8:30 p.m. ET, also coincide with ESPN’s NBA broadcast, which has a staggered tip time.
With five Wednesdays in January, fans will get their fair share of midweek primetime action on ABC. As the month comes to a close, fans will get to shift their excitement to Saturday night primetime on ABC.
Why is ABC airing NBA games on Wednesdays throughout the month? Here’s how the entertainment world had a hand in the scheduling.
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Why is the NBA on ABC on Wednesday?In early October, the national TV schedule for the 2023-24 NBA season showed that ABC would air NBA games every Wednesday in January.
At the time of the news, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Strike had just come to an end while the Screen Actor’s Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) Strike was still ongoing. It has since ended.
As explained by Awful Announcing, ABC needed programming in major primetime slots, as there was great uncertainty around the return of scripted television shows.
Enter the NBA.
Given the league’s partnership with Disney, ABC, and the ESPN family of networks, live sports programming was the perfect answer to fill much-needed time for programming. With five marquee matchups on the schedule, the star power was viewed as being a major draw.
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NBA Wednesdays on ABC scheduleABC’s schedule of Wednesday games began on Jan. 3 when the Knicks defeated the Bulls at Madison Square Garden. After opening in New York City, games will be played in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Brooklyn.
Here is the complete schedule for NBA Wednesdays on ABC:
Date Game/Result Time (ET) Jan. 3 Knicks 116, Bulls 100 Jan. 10 Pelicans at Warriors 8:30 p.m. Jan. 17 Mavericks at Lakers 8:30 p.m. Jan. 24 Suns at Mavericks 8:30 p.m. Jan. 31 Suns at Nets 8:30 p.m.
