Throughout January, NBA fans can mark their calendars with another weekly primetime matchup to get used to.
Why does the NBA air Wednesdays on ABC? NBA Wednesdays on ABC
Ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season, ESPN has aired five Wednesday night primetime games on network television for NBA Wednesdays on ABC. The games, which will air at 8:30 pm ET, also coincide with ESPN’s NBA broadcast, which has a staggered peak 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 be able to move their excitement to Saturday night prime time on ABC.
Why does ABC air NBA games on Wednesdays throughout the month? Here’s how the world of entertainment played a role in the programming.
Why is the NBA airing Wednesdays on ABC?
In early October, the national television schedule for the 2023-24 NBA season showed that ABC would broadcast NBA games every Wednesday in January.
At the time of the news, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike had just ended 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 Terrible Ad, ABC needed programming in key prime time slots, as there was great uncertainty about the return of scripted television programs.
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 programming time. With five mainline bouts on the schedule, star power was seen as a major draw.
WATCH: Watch the biggest primetime games of the 2023-24 NBA season with Sling TV
NBA on ABC Wednesday
ABC’s Wednesday game schedule began on January 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:
Data
Match/Result
Time (ET)
January 3 Knicks 116, Bulls 100 January 10 Pelicans at Warriors 8.30pm January 17 Mavericks at Lakers 8.30pm January 24 Suns at Mavericks 8.30pm January 31 Suns at Nets 8.30pm
2024-01-10 02:53:00
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