https://frontofficesports.com/abc-disney-nfl-espn-monday-night-football-live-game-rights/

Front Office Sports reports that Disney is pushing for ABC, the home of Monday Night Football from its launch in 1970 through 2005, to land its first NFL package in a decade and a half. Monday Night Football moved to ABC's corporate sibling ESPN in 2006. An ABC/ESPN Monday Night Football package could potentially give ABC its first Super Bowl since 2006. But that would mean sharing the Super Bowl with Fox, CBS and NBC, resulting in a four-year rotation between networks, instead of the current three-year rotation.

I can't believe it's been off ABC for 15 years...! Where did the time go?

ESPN should get rid of its annual Monday Night Football doubleheader (https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/nfl-monday-night-football-double-header-get-rid-of-forever-01ej96p8v1j0)

Every year, Monday Night Football kicks off the season with two back-to-back games, starting at 7:15 p.m. ET and, this year, ending at about 1:30 a.m. ET. "It's not that no one wants two football games on Monday night, it's that no one NEEDS two football games on Monday night," says Stephen Douglas. "There is no good argument for this game to exist. After Thursday Night Football, the national game on Sunday, Sunday Night Football, and the first Monday Night Football game it is highly unlikely, if not impossible for there to be a fifth game with a storyline worthy of a national audience. By the time the late MNF game kicks off, the celebration is over. It is no longer opening day or opening night. The season started four days earlier. There have been 15 games by the time this game begins. Absolutely no one is ever excited for the matchup."

ALSO:


Monday Night Football's doubleheader sees decline over last year, with the first game dropping 17% and the second game falling 27% (https://www.thewrap.com/monday-night-football-tv-ratings-plunge-from-2019-in-opening-week-doubleheader/)
How Little Richard's "Rip It Up" was changed up to become the new Monday Night Football theme (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/little-richard-monday-night-football-1058665/)
ABC Saturday Night Football college football broadcasters Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit shined in their NFL debut doing the early MNF doubleheader game (https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/kirk-herbstreit-chris-fowler-superb-monday-night-football-booth-debut-college-football-01ej7m6pv7v5)
Unlike most MNF pairings, Fowler and Herbstreit have developed on-air chemistry in their 25 years working together (https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2020/09/15/espn-monday-night-football-chris-fowler-kirk-herbstreit-debut)
ESPN roasted for its bizarre MNF John Elway graphic (https://nypost.com/2020/09/15/espn-roasted-on-twitter-for-bizarre-john-elway-graphic/)


Monday Night Football will return to ABC next week for its 50th anniversary (https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2020/09/monday-night-football-megacast-espn-to-celebrate-the-nfl-in-las-vegas-with-multi-network-presentation-of-saints-raiders/)

Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the Sept. 21, 1970 launch of Monday Night Football on ABC, so the ESPN MNF game between the New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders will be simulcast on ABC for one night only. ESPN also announced that The Killers will perform at halftime and that there will be a Monday Night Football MegaCast on ESPN2 featuring college football broadcasters Rece Davis, from ESPN headquarters in Connecticut, and Kirk Herbstreit from his home in Nashville, calling the game with free-flowing conversations with various guests.

ABC will air two more Monday Night Football games as ESPN tries to obtains Super Bowl rights (https://nypost.com/2020/11/30/espn-adds-playoff-attraction-for-nfl-in-super-bowl-push/)

The Dec. 7 and Dec. 28 ESPN MNF games will be simulcast on ABC. ESPN also announced it will use a "Megacast" (https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/espn-will-air-its-nfl-wild-card-game-on-five-networks-including-freeform.html) for its January wildcard playoff game. "For the wild card game in early January, ESPN will have its lead MNF team of Steve Levy, Louis Riddick and Brian Griese on its network, as well as ABC," reports New York Post's Andrew Marchand. "ESPN2 and Freeform will use a different set of commentators for the game, producing an alternative format as the network has done for college football’s national championship game." The extra effort is part of ESPN's plans to entice the NFL into giving the cable network and ABC a spot in the Super Bowl rotation in the upcoming TV rights deals.