ESPN, FS1, TNT, Hallmark & FX Airing 15 Shows & Games Tonight – Here Are the 3 to Watch

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Buy Me a Coffee!

ESPN, FS1, TNT, Hallmark, FX and five other top cable networks all have packed lineups tonight (December 17, 2025). Here are the three shows/games you should watch, in my humble opinion:

Vanderbilt at Memphis – ESPN 2
Air Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Vanderbilt, which is 10-0, is the reason to tune in here. The 13th ranked Commodores have yet to face a ranked team but have been very impressive compiling the unbeaten record. Vanderbilt, which is a 10-point favorite to defeat Memphis, is the fourth best two-point shooting team in the nation. Underachieving Memphis, 4-5, has just one player (Dug McDaniel with 14.1 points a game) averaging double figures in scoring. Vanderbilt’s Duke Miles is pacing the Commodores, averaging 16.6 points a game.

(Also note that FS1 is airing a triple header of college basketball tonight. See listings below.)

Doubleheader NHL On TNT
Air Time: 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET
TNT has two good matchups tonight with the Utah Mammoth squaring off against the Detroit Red Wings at 7:30 p.m. ET and the Vegas Golden Knights playing the New Jersey Devils at 10 p.m. ET. The latter is the best of the two with the Golden Knights (16-6-9) one of the best teams in the league, trailing the Anaheim Ducks by one point in the Pacific Division.

Elf (2003) – AMC
Air Time: 8 p.m. ET
Will Ferrell (pictured above) stars as a human raised by elves who leaves the flock to search for his biological father, played with perfection by James Caan. Elf has become an all-time Christmas classic thanks to Ferrell’s zany but totally believable performance – and great supporting work from Caan, Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel and Mary Steenburgen. If you’ve seen Elf, watch it again. If you haven’t seen Elf, watch it twice, three times; it gets funnier each time.

Shows, Movies & Games Coming Tonight to 10 Top Cable Networks

ESPN
Cure Bowl: South Florida vs. Old Dominion – 5 p.m. ET
College Basketball: Vanderbilt vs. Memphis – 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Ventures Bowl: Delaware vs. Louisiana – 8:30 p.m. ET
NFL Live – 9 p.m. ET (ESPN 2)
X Games Aspen 2025 – 10 p.m. ET (ESPN 2)

FS1
College Basketball: Xavier vs. Creighton – 6:30 p.m. ET – 4K
College Basketball: Georgetown vs. Marquette – 8:30 p.m. ET
College Basketball: Arizona State vs. UCLA – 10:30 p.m. ET

TNT
NHL Hockey: Mammoth vs. Red Wings – 7:30 p.m. ET
NHL Hockey: Golden Knights vs. Devils – 10 p.m. ET

TBS
All Elite Wrestling – 8-11:30 p.m. ET
Impractical Jokers — 11:30 p.m. ET

Hallmark
Single On the 25th – 8 p.m. ET
The Santa Summit – 10 p.m. ET

FX
How the Grinch Stole Christmas – 7 p.m. ET
Jingle All the Way – 9:30 p.m. ET
Jingle All the Way – 11:30 p.m. ET

AMC
Elf – 8 p.m. ET
Four Christmases – 10 p.m. ET

Turner Classic Movies
Emma – 8 p.m. ET
Sense and Sensibility – 10:15 p.m. ET

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