ABC has sparked significant controversy and drawn sharp criticism for its decision to seemingly overlook live women's basketball coverage while hastily arranging a replacement for its abruptly cancelled season of The Bachelorette. The network announced the cancellation of the latest installment of the popular reality TV dating series on Thursday, following the emergence of a disturbing video involving the show's star, Taylor Frankie Paul.
Controversial Video Leads to Show's Demise
In the video, which was obtained by TMZ on Thursday, Paul, known for her role in Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, is seen repeatedly assaulting her former boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. This footage later became pivotal evidence in a 2023 legal case, ultimately resulting in Paul pleading guilty to a charge of aggravated assault. With The Bachelorette pulled from the schedule merely days before its anticipated season premiere on Sunday evening, viewers were left speculating about how the network would fill the crucial two-hour programming gap between 8pm and 10pm Eastern Time.
Missed Opportunity for Women's Sports
Basketball enthusiasts and advocates for women's sports initially felt a surge of optimism, believing the obvious solution resided in the NCAA Tournament. Sunday night marks the commencement of the second round of the women's March Madness tournament, and ESPN, a sister network to ABC under the Disney umbrella, is already scheduled to broadcast a game during the 8pm slot. The specific matchup will be determined by the outcomes of the first-round contests.
ABC has demonstrated a growing commitment to elevating women's basketball in recent years, providing March Madness games with more prominent time slots. The network is already set to air a Sunday afternoon doubleheader starting at 1pm ET. Many argued that ABC could have seamlessly extended this coverage by substituting The Bachelorette with another live women's basketball showdown at 8pm ET.
Viewership Comparisons Highlight Potential
Such a move might have enabled the network to, at the very least, sustain a stable viewership level, even if it could not match the typically higher ratings of the reality TV spectacle. According to data from Awful Announcing, a trio of second-round games last year attracted over one million viewers to ABC, while the championship game drew an impressive 8.5 million viewers. In contrast, the previous season of The Bachelorette reportedly averaged approximately 2.46 million viewers per episode, with the premiere averaging around 2.8 million.
Network Opts for Rerun Over Live Action
Despite these compelling figures, ABC opted for a radically different direction, completely bypassing women's basketball. A press release issued by Disney on Thursday evening confirmed that ABC would instead broadcast a rerun of American Idol. Specifically, the network plans to rebroadcast the most recent episode of the talent competition program, which originally aired on March 16.
Furious Backlash from Fans and Advocates
This decision ignited immediate fury among basketball fans, who accused the network of betraying women's sports. Outrage poured forth across social media platforms, with users expressing their profound disappointment.
One social media user lamented, "An American Idol rerun feels unnecessary and kinda disappointing," in response to the announcement.
Another passionate fan demanded, "Hey ABC put the Women's NCAA Tournament on instead of 'The Bachelorette!' Put the women's game on Prime Time! Just Do It! These women are far more worthy of being on Prime Time Television than a wanna-be reality content creator."
A third critic questioned the logic, stating, "It makes no sense if they can have a simulcast of MNF on both ESPN and ABC. Why not NCAAW?" referencing the NFL's Monday Night Football broadcast strategy.
Further condemnation followed: "ABC resorting to repeats of American Idol, but couldn't be bothered to move [women's basketball] games from ESPN over to ABC. Boooooo," while another insisted, "ABC should put the women’s NCAA Tournament on instead." One user issued a blunt challenge: "@ABC do it cowards."
Summarising the frustration, another individual fumed, "It’s crazy that ABC would rather show reruns instead of live sports."
Uncertain Future for the Time Slot
Currently, it remains unclear how ABC intends to manage the Sunday evening time slot throughout what would have been the remainder of Paul's season of The Bachelorette. Looking ahead, basketball fans are assured of seeing women's March Madness action the following Sunday, as ESPN and ABC hold the broadcasting rights for the Elite Eight round of the tournament on March 29.
However, two of the scheduled quarterfinal matchups for that date are set to begin at 1pm and 3pm ET, which is notably earlier than The Bachelorette's traditional evening slot. This scheduling further underscores the missed opportunity for prime-time exposure that has so angered the sports community.
