Unless there are major changes, ABC will air its fewest amount of NBA games since 2002-03.
ABC is currently scheduled to air only 15 NBA telecasts during the 2009-10 season, the minimum amount of regular season games the network is contractually obligated to air, and the fewest NBA games on the net since 2002-03.
Coverage will begin on Christmas Day, with Magic/Celtics and Cavaliers/Lakers. Following Christmas Day, ABC will take a hiatus of over a month -- the longest since '02-'03 -- before airing Nuggets/Spurs and Lakers/Celtics on January 31.
ABC is not scheduled to air games on either March 21 or March 28, when the NCAA Tournament will be taking place. This marks the first time since the 2004-05 season that ABC has taken a Sunday off, excluding the All-Star break. ABC traditionally draws its lowest NBA ratings of the season opposite the NCAA Tournament.
Despite airing just 15 games, ABC will heavily feature the Lakers, Celtics, Cavaliers and Magic during the 2009-10 season. The Lakers and Celtics will each have 6 appearances, while the Cavaliers and Magic will each have 5. ABC will air two Cavaliers/Celtics games (March 14 and April 4) and two Cavaliers/Magic games (Feb. 7 and April 11).
ABC will only air games involving 8 teams next season -- the aforementioned Lakers, Celtics, Cavaliers and Magic, and the Spurs (3 appearances), Nuggets (3 appearances), Suns (1 appearance) and Blazers (1 appearance). The Blazers' appearance, an April 11 game against the Lakers, will be their first on broadcast since 2003.
The lack of NBA games on ABC is surprising, considering that NBA regular season ratings have increased for two consecutive seasons. In 2008, the NBA regular season on ABC even topped MLB regular season coverage on FOX.
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