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ESPN Expanding NBA Coverage In '15-16 With Saturday-Night Telecasts On ABC

ESPN on Thursday said that it will expand its NBA coverage next year by "adding live game telecasts on Saturday nights via sister broadcast network ABC beginning in January," according to R. Thomas Umstead of MULTICHANNEL NEWS. Starting on Jan. 23, ABC will air games beginning at 8:30pm ET, preceded by "NBA Countdown." With the addition of the Saturday night games, ESPN/ABC will "offer NBA telecasts on four days a week from January to April" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 7/16). ADWEEK's Tim Baysinger noted the eight-game slate will "run twice a month" through the end of the season. ABC is "coming off its most-watched NBA Finals" since it began airing the NBA in the '02-03 season. Under its current rights deal with the NBA -- which expires after next season -- ABC "was scheduled for 16 games." Instead of "airing doubleheaders on Sundays, ABC will now air one on Saturday nights and one on Sunday afternoons" (ADWEEK.com, 7/16). YAHOO SPORTS' Eric Freeman wrote the idea "makes sense for both the NBA and ESPN." The presence of a marquee game "that everyone can watch could drive greater interest," and unless fans "have Saturday night plans, they're probably going to choose to watch a good NBA game." Meanwhile, ABC and ESPN "get to air popular, live shows on a night most other networks treat as a programming graveyard" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/16). NBCSPORTS.com's Kurt Helin noted the Saturday night games "could end up being like Thursday night TNT games, where the league can showcase its best matchups on a big stage." Helin: "With what ABC is paying under the new television deal, if they want big games they should get big games" (NBCSPORTS.com, 7/16).

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