A Monday night Steelers playoff game might seem like a novel concept, but it’s not new to the NFL.
In 2021, ESPN signed a five-year agreement to broadcast Monday night games following the first weekend of the NFL playoffs. That’s how the Steelers wound up being scheduled to play the Houston Texans at 8:15 p.m. Jan. 12 on ESPN and ABC (WTAE).
As for why the NFL would add playoff games on Monday, it’s the same reason the league added Thursday games or sold a Christmas Day game package to Netflix: Money.
The more different packages the NFL can sell to different platforms, the more money it can bring in. The NFL can afford to continue slicing and dicing because professional football is the most popular sport on American TV.
Next up: Reports suggest the NFL will add to its international games, creating a new package of games played in Europe (airing live in the U.S. on Sunday morning) to sell to a network/platform.
Channel surfing
“Judy Justice” reruns continue to air weekday afternoons on WPXI, but a fourth season of original episodes will premiere with three episodes Jan. 19 on Amazon’s Prime Video. After that, new episodes stream each weekday through April 10. … NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” returns Jan. 17 with Finn Wolfhard (“Stranger Things”) as host and musical guest ASAP Rocky; Teyana Taylor hosts Jan. 24 with Geese and Alexander Skarsgard hosts Jan. 31 with Cardi B. … The “Jersey Shore” format goes global with the premiere of “Canada Shore” (Jan. 22, Paramount+). … Netflix announced premiere dates for season two of “Beef” (April 16) and season five of “Sweet Magnolias” (June 11). … Kate Winslet tells Deadline.com a second season of HBO’s “Mare of Easttown” may film in 2027.
