Rumors of a sale of the ABC television network to Nexstar or some other group have been popping up today. Lots of things still unknown at this point. However, this sure is going to affect sports viewing in the near future.

Currently, ABC is part of the Disney empire, which has contracts with the NBA, NFL, SEC, ACC, Big 12, AAC, among many. What happens after ABC is sold? Would the new owners be able to afford to keep the contracts in place? What happens to the NBA in 2025? What about Monday Night Football? I don't know if the new owners would be as capitalized as Disney was without ESPN as part of the deal.

If ABC doesn't have a cable network attached to it, basically the best you can hope for is CBS without CBS Sports Network. Technically ESPN on ABC broadcasts are a paid program (you may even notice the paid program disclaimer at the end of the broadcast), so ABC's new owner may be content to continue that relationship as long as the checks from ESPN clear. Warner Bros. Discovery is linked to CBS via Turner Sports. NBC has USA and the Comcast RSNs. FOX has FS1 and FS2. ABC really wouldn't have any other place to go for a cable sports partner outside of ESPN. Nextstar has News Nation (formerly WGN America) but even its coverage is somewhat limited in certain parts of the country.