What's On This Weekend in TV Sports (Dec. 18-Dec. 20)

By R. Thomas Umstead
published

College football conference championship games take center stage; DAZN streams Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin boxing matches

Ohio State plays in the Big Ten Conference final on Dec. 19
Ohio State plays in the Big Ten Conference final on Dec. 19 (Image credit: ESPN)

 College football will take a step closer to determining its four-team playoff lineup as several major conferences hold their championship games this weekend. 

On Saturday, top Ranked Alabama will face seventh-ranked Florida in the SEC Conference final (CBS), while third-ranked Clemson and second-ranked Notre Dame battle in the ACC championship game (ABC). The Big Ten final will pit fourth-ranked Ohio State against 14th-ranked Northwestern (Fox), while the Big 12 Championship game will feature sixth-ranked Iowa State and 10th-ranked Oklahoma (ABC). A high-profile, non-conference championship matchup features fifth-ranked Texas A&M and Tennessee (ESPN).  

On the pro football front, two NFL games will air on NFL Network Saturday: The Buffalo Bills will look to secure a playoff spot with a win against the Denver Broncos, while Green Bay will look to hold on to the top spot in the NFC when it battles the Carolina Panthers. The Cleveland Browns will look to clinch a playoff spot against the New York Giants on NBC's Sunday Night Football telecast. 

The NBA will wrap-up its pre-season schedule this weekend with eight games on Friday, highlighted by ESPN2’s Brooklyn Nets-Boston Celtics telecast and ESPN’s Los Angeles Lakers-Phoenix Suns game. On Saturday, NBA TV will televise the Atlanta Hawks-Memphis Grizzlies game. The 2020-21 NBA regular season launches Tuesday with a TNT doubleheader featuring the Golden State Warriors at the Nets, and the L.A. Clippers at L.A. Lakers. 

Read more: NBA Releases TV Schedule for First Half of 2020-21 Season

Sports streaming service DAZN this weekend will feature fights featuring two marquee middleweight champions. On Friday the $19.99 per month SVOD service will stream live middleweight champion Genady Golovkin’s fight against mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta; on Saturday, DAZN will feature middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez’s bout against super middleweight champion Callum Smith. That fight will also be offered via pay-per-view through In Demand, with viewers purchasing the fight receiving a four-month subscription to DAZN. 

Read more:  DAZN Steps Into the PPV Ring with Canelo Alvarez Fight 

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.