ABC Not Showing ‘Monday Night Football’ This Week, Reveals Replacements

Monday Night Football will not be airing on ABC this coming Monday. While the network is the home of the weekly football event in partnership with ESPN, that will not be the case this Monday, Dec. 2. The Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos game will be airing only on ESPN. Instead, Monday night on ABC will belong to a lineup of holiday-themed game shows.

Kicking off the night at 8 p.m. ET, Chance the Rapper, Dionne Warwick, and Lil Jon will be competing on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, and it will be a special holiday episode. The celebrities will be spinning to win for their charity of choice, likely with plenty of festive puzzles, clues, and more. Chance the Rapper will be playing for SocialWorks, Wariwck for North Jersey Community Research Initiative, and Lil Jon for Open Paths Counseling Center.

Press Your Luck will then be airing at 9 p.m. ET for “Holiday Extravaganza III.” Host Elizabeth Banks will usher in the holiday season with big bucks, festive prizes, “and a very naughty WHAMMY!” The holiday fun doesn’t stop there, though, as Press Your Luck will be airing a rerun of “Holiday Extravaganza II” immediately following the new episode at 10 p.m. ET. It will be just enough to get fans into the holiday spirit with the beginning of December, and there is much more holiday fun on the way on ABC with specials, holiday-themed episodes, movies, and more.

Meanwhile, Monday Night Football will return to ABC on Dec. 9 as the Cincinnati Bengals play the Dallas Cowboys in the Lone Star State. Football will remain on the network on Mondays through the end of the year, with games including the Bears at Vikings, Saints at Packers, and Lions at 49ers. Of course, there will still be football this Monday, but again, it will only be on ESPN, rather than on both ESPN and ABC, but the festive alternative isn’t so bad for those who do not get ESPN.

There will be other schedule changes throughout the month of December because of the holidays, but it will just put people into the festive spirit, even if it does cut into sports. At the very least, unless schedules change, this Monday will be the only time Monday Night Football won’t be airing on ABC, so things will go back to normal the following week. In the meantime, holiday episodes of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and Press Your Luck will be airing this Monday, Dec. 2 beginning at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.