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Hard to home in on the hows and whys of ‘Monday Night Football’

A few readers checked in this past week asking the same simple question: Why is the Patriots-Bears game on “Monday Night Football” being simulcast locally on NBC10 rather than Ch. 5, Boston’s ABC affiliate where ESPN/ABC games usually air in this market?

Again, simple question, right? Which is why I’m stumped as to why asking for a simple explanation brought vague yet complicated answers from ESPN and the local stations involved.

A spokesperson at Ch. 5 explained that, similar to the way syndicated programming is acquired by a station, “Monday Night Football” games can be picked up by any station with which ESPN negotiates.