The ongoing exodus of sporting events from ABC is beginning to take its toll on some of the network’s affiliates.
Mediaweek reported on Sunday that some ABC affiliates are “boiling mad” over ABC shifting several sporting events to ESPN.
Over the next year alone, 8 NASCAR races that previously aired on ABC will move to ESPN, along with the British Open and the Rose Bowl. ABC has also reduced its NBA schedule in both the regular season and postseason, dropped all college basketball coverage except for the SEC Tournament, and dumped smaller sports such as the WNBA and MLS.
WSB-TV VP and GM Bill Hoffman told Mediaweek that the reduction of sporting events on ABC is “troubling.” Hoffman: “Not only have we lost these sporting events, but now we also have to compete against those telecasts on ESPN. Nascar is a huge lifestyle in the South. It?s indigenous to the region. And now most of the live races on broadcast are gone.”
ESPN is indeed the big beneficiary. The network is set to air the entire British Open, all but one race in NASCAR’s Chase For the Cup, the entire NBA Eastern Conference Finals, and the entire Bowl Championship Series.
With the loss of the Chase for the Cup and the Rose Bowl, the only big time sporting events left on ABC are the NBA Finals, the World Cup and the Indianapolis 500.
Contrast this to 2003, when ABC aired the Super Bowl, Monday Night Football, the entire BCS, the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup Finals, the British Open (and a full slate of PGA Tour tournaments), college basketball, and the Indy 500.
