• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Suspended Seasons Leave Networks Scrambling To Fill Programming Hours

  • Disney will have to potentially fill 16 NBA regular-season game windows across its ESPN and ABC networks. Plus, up to 44 NBA Playoff game windows, including the NBA Finals on ABC.
  • ESPN likely to call on SportsCenter, plus library of classic games and 30 for 30 documentaries.
Oct 22, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) is defended by LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) in the second half at Staples Center. The Clippers defeated the Lakers 112-102. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Alarm. Confusion. Disbelief. Despair.

Those were the feelings of TV sports executives Thursday as they scrambled to fill the gaping holes in their programming schedules wrought by the coronavirus on Thursday.

During one unprecedented day, the NBA, NHL, and MLS suspended their regular seasons while Major League Baseball canceled spring training games and pushed Opening Day back by two weeks. Not to mention March Madness and college sports essentially shutting down for the spring.

Those decisions didn’t just impact leagues, teams, players, and fans. They upended the best-laid plans of TV networks such as ESPN, TNT, TBS, CBS, Fox and NBC that collectively pay sports leagues billions to air thousands of hours of live sports coverage.

The situation also raises the question of what exactly do sports TV networks show their viewers when there are little or no live games, matches or tournaments.

The sudden loss of NBA games – just as the league headed toward the post-season – was a blow to Disney’s ESPN and Turner Sports’ TNT.

Disney will have to potentially fill 16 NBA regular-season game windows across its ESPN and ABC networks, as well as up to 44 NBA Playoff game windows, including the NBA Finals on ABC.  

TNT, meanwhile, will have to potentially replace 14 regular-season game windows and up to 40 playoff telecasts, including the hotly anticipated Western Conference Finals.

Publicly, both of the NBA’s national TV partners supported commissioner Adam Silver’s decision to postpone its season. But the two cable networks will be hard-pressed to come up with replacement programming comparable to NBA superstars LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo potentially competing for the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Looking ahead, ESPN’s flagship network plans to air live “SportsCenter” editions, all day and night, while ESPN2 will simulcast a combination of ESPN and ESPNEWS programming. ESPNEWS, meanwhile, will continue to air its usual video simulcasts of radio shows such as “First Take, Your Take With Jason Fritz” and “The Will Cain Show.”

John Kosner, the ex-ESPN executive turned President of Kosner Media, expects Turner and ESPN to take different approaches to the crisis.

Turner is really an entertainment network with some marquee sports properties, he said, while ESPN is more news-oriented.

Kosner predicted Turner will mostly plug the holes with entertainment programming, while ESPN relies on news and studio shows. 

He also expects ESPN to take a “back to the future” approach, replaying the greatest NBA games and other “classic” programming. Or filling holes through marathon showings of its “30 for 30” sports documentary series.  With little or no live sports, look for ESPN Classic to also become a go-to destination for sports diehards.

“I think Turner will go to its high-profile entertainment programming – and just fill the slots with that,” Kosner said. “In the case of ESPN, you have a very sophisticated, well-resourced newsroom. So they’re certainly going to cover what’s going on. I expect they’ll spend ample time talking to players from different sports about how they’re spending their time.”

There’s no downplaying the potential disaster facing sports TV networks with little or no live sports to offer viewers. But such a black swan event could spark some interesting programming experiments on new topics such as sports gaming, said Kosner.

With NBA players having time on their hands, he can also see ESPN integrating current and former NBA stars into coverage of classic NBA Finals and games. Plus,  more coverage of high school athletic stars similar to what you see on youth-oriented networks like Overtime.

“They will have a captive audience of sports fans (like me) who will be tuning in,” Kosner said. “It’s an opportunity to experiment and develop a hit show or talent.”

The potential loss of the NBA Playoffs is just one of the multiple problems facing sports TV networks.

CBS and Turner pay over $1 billion annually for the rights to air the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. But there will be no madness this March. 

CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV were slated to televise all 67 games from the Division I Men’s basketball championship. TBS was poised to televised the Final Four on Saturday, April 4 and National Championship on April 6. 

The first casualty of the NCAA decision could be CBS’ presentation of “The Selection Show” that was scheduled to air Sunday, March 15 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET.

From March 3 to March 15, ESPN was set to televise no less than 29 men’s, and 24 women’s, college basketball conference championships.

Over the coming weeks, ESPN will also have to replace canceled matches, tournaments and games from its TV partners at MLS and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). 

ESPN was supposed to televise 31 regular-season MLS matches this year as well as MLS All-Star Game on July 29. But the network only got to show three matches before the season was suspended. 

Likewise, the network was also supposed to provide “first ball to last ball” coverage of the BNP Paribas Open starting Wednesday, March 11 before the tennis tournament announced it was a no-go.

NBC Sports, meanwhile, will grapple with how to program canceled NHL game windows as well as MotoGP races.  NBC still had more than a dozen regular-season game telecasts planned for its broadcast network and NBCSN before the puck is supposed to drop for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in April.

“We want everyone, everywhere to be safe from the spread of this virus,” said NBC spokesman Greg Hughes.

READ MORE: March Madness Cancellation Puts Safety Ahead of Substantial Revenue Losses

The best-case scenario is that some of these sporting events will only be postponed for a few weeks or months, not canceled.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, for example, told Mike Greenberg on ESPN’s “Get Up” morning show Thursday that he could see the NBA postponing the season for 60 days, then returning to play the last 7-10 games of the regular season and finally an NBA Playoffs that reaches into July if not August.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Nuggets, Rockets Make Aggressive Moves to Challenge Thunder

Denver took the Thunder to seven games in the conference semifinals.

ESPN, MLB Relationship May Not Be Over After All

The parties restart rights talks amid a high-profile divorce in February.

College Sports Revenue-Sharing Underway As More Changes Loom

July 1 marks the first day schools can directly pay players.

What Would a LeBron James L.A. Exit Look Like?

ESPN’s Bobby Marks said “there isn’t” a trade market for James.

Featured Today

The Battle Over Wimbledon’s Ambitious Expansion Plan

A classic NIMBY standoff on one of the most hallowed grounds in sports.
Seattle Rough & Tumble
June 28, 2025

Women’s Sports Bars Are on the Rise. Survival Isn’t Guaranteed

Some women’s sports bars are cashing in. Others are clawing for funding.
June 27, 2025

Shitposters Have Taken the Reins of Pro Sports’ Official Voices

Meet the social media pros turning sports teams into internet trolls.
Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) hoists the Stanley Cup after winning game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena
June 26, 2025

Stanley Cup’s International Summer Tour: Rules, Repairs, and Raucousness

No pro trophy tour compares to the NHL’s three-month global victory lap.
Leo Messi

TNT, Club World Cup Ride Messi to Surprisingly Solid Debut Ratings

TNT Sports carries about a third of matches in the U.S.
June 23, 2025

NBA Finals Game 7 Is Most-Watched Since 2019, but Series Drops 9%

Game 7 drew 16.35 million viewers, the most-watched NBA game since 2019.
June 24, 2025

Fever vs. Aces Draws 5th-Largest TV Audience of 2025 WNBA Season

ESPN will carry seven more Indiana Fever games this year.
Sponsored

Hottest Matchups Following NFL Schedule Release

The NFL released the 2025 regular-season schedule, and anticipation is already building in the ticket marketplace with four months to go.
June 19, 2025

Pacers Force Game 7, Could Spark Big Ratings Boost for NBA Finals

Game 7 could boost NBA Finals ratings after a slow start this year.
June 17, 2025

Stanley Cup Final Delivers Drama but Struggles for Eyeballs in U.S.

U.S. viewership fell while Canadian audiences for the event rose slightly.
June 17, 2025

Streaming Tops Linear for First Time, Sports Still Key to TV’s Resilience

Streaming hits another critical milestone in an accelerating media transition.
June 17, 2025

Zaslav Takes Pay Cut, TNT Sports Future Unclear in WBD Shake-Up

The TNT Sports parent company retools its executive pay after shareholder pushback.