In a move that may have otherwise escaped notice, the NBA schedule reveal last week is also a dark sign for Hollywood, with NBC and ABC each getting an additional 11 games to air on broadcast television. The linear networks are fundamentally time-constrained, with only 168 hours a week of broadcast time and only a fraction of that in primetime. That means that the increase from 79 games a year ago on NBC and ABC to 90 combined games this year will also increase the aggregate amount of primetime shifted away from original network programming like sitcoms, dramas and reality shows by 33 hours per season, up to 270 hours of broadcast television time.
Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter
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