Editing American Broadcasting Company (section)

=== Sports ===
{{Main|ESPN on ABC}}
Sports programming is provided on occasion, primarily on weekend afternoons and Saturday evenings. In 2006, the ABC Sports division was shut down, with all sports telecasts on ABC since then being produced in association with sister cable network [[ESPN]] under the branding [[ESPN on ABC]]. General industry trends and changes in rights have prompted reductions in sports on broadcast television, with Disney preferring to schedule the majority of its sports rights on the networks of ESPN (until 2020).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/major-sporting-events-becoming-even-dispersed-across-television.html|title=Major sporting events are becoming even more dispersed across television|date=March 29, 2017|website=Awful Announcing|language=en-US|access-date=December 29, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/sports/ncaafootball/06sandomir.html|title=As Bowls Migrate to Cable, Viewership Is Just a Number|last=Sandomir|first=Richard|date=January 4, 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 29, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Since 2020 ESPN has prioritized ABC with airings of its sports telecasts with occasional simulcasts and exclusive games of ESPN ''Monday Night Football'' broadcasts on ABC.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-abc-might-add-super-bowls-mnf-flex-scheduling-in-next-nfl-deal.html |title=It looks like ESPN/ABC might add Super Bowls and Monday Night Football flex scheduling in the next NFL TV deal |website=awfulannouncing.com |last=Bucholtz |first=Andrew |date=December 16, 2020 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217040720/https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-abc-might-add-super-bowls-mnf-flex-scheduling-in-next-nfl-deal.html |archive-date=December 17, 2020 }}</ref>

Since 2006, ABC has at least aired ten weeks of primetime sports programming, and since 2020 has aired sports programming almost every week from September to May each year (with primetime encores and movies airing the remainder of the year).

ABC is the broadcast television rightsholder of the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA), with its package (under the ''[[NBA on ESPN]]'' branding) traditionally beginning with its [[National Basketball Association Christmas games|Christmas Day games]], followed by a series of [[NBA Saturday Primetime|Saturday night]] and Sunday afternoon games through the remainder of the season, weekend [[NBA Playoffs|playoff]] games, and all games of the [[NBA Finals]]. ABC is also the broadcast television rightsholder of the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL), with its package (under the ''[[NHL on ESPN]]'' branding). In this deal, ABC broadcasts at least 10 regular season games (mostly afternoon), the [[NHL All-Star Game]], the [[NHL Stadium Series]], and four [[Stanley Cup Finals]]. During [[ESPN College Football on ABC|college football]] season, ABC typically carries an afternoon doubleheader on Saturdays, along with the primetime ''[[Saturday Night Football]]''. ABC also airs coverage of selected bowl games, ABC is also the secondary broadcast partner of [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) with the network at least airing wild card series games since 2020 (except for 2021) and select [[Sunday Night Baseball]] games by sister network ESPN. Beginning in the [[2015 NFL season]], ESPN agreed to begin simulcasting/exclusively airing NFL games on ABC.<ref name=":0" /> Thus, ABC is the only major broadcast network that carries games from all of the traditional "big four" sports leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL).

During the late winter months, ABC airs both men's and women's college basketball games on weekend afternoons. In the spring and summer months, ABC also airs games (usually on weekends) from the [[Women's National Basketball Association]] (WNBA), and is the broadcast home of the [[X Games]] and [[Little League World Series]].

In 2015, ESPN's annual [[ESPY Awards]] presentation moved to ABC from ESPN. Bolstered by [[Caitlyn Jenner]] accepting the inaugural [[Arthur Ashe Courage Award]] during the ceremony, the [[2015 ESPY Awards]]' viewership was roughly tripled over the 2014 ceremony on ESPN.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/espn-upfront-share-nfl-football-wild-card-espys-abc-1201493164/|title=ESPN To Share Football, ESPYs With ABC|last=Steinberg|first=Brian|date=May 12, 2015|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=January 4, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/ratings-espy-awards-soar-on-abc-cbs-big-brother-steady-1201541579/|title=Ratings: ESPY Awards Soar on ABC, CBS' 'Big Brother' Steady|last=Kissell|first=Rick|date=July 16, 2015|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=January 4, 2020}}</ref>

After the NFL signed a new contract with [[the Walt Disney Company]], ABC will air Super Bowl LXI in 2027 and Super Bowl LXV in 2031. ABC has not aired a [[Super Bowl]] since [[Super Bowl XL]] in 2006.