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ESPN Officially Announces Joe Buck, Troy Aikman On ‘Monday Night Football’

“The opportunity to be a voice on Monday Night Football, adding to its legacy and being a part of the future of the NFL on ESPN, has me motivated and reflective.”

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ESPN has made it official: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are the new broadcast team on Monday Night Football.

The network issued a release on Wednesday announcing that both broadcasters have been signed to multi-year agreements. The New York Post‘s Andrew Marchand previously reported that Aikman’s deal is for five years and $90 million, while Buck’s contract is also for five years ranging between $60 million and $75 million.

Buck and Aikman both moving to ESPN together means that their long broadcast relationship will continue, having been together for 20 years on Fox. With their 21st season together, ESPN points out that they will match Pat Summerall and John Madden, arguably the greatest broadcasting team ever, for the longest run by an NFL announcing duo.

Lisa Salters remains as MNF‘s sideline reporter, going into her 11th season on the broadcast. And John Parry will return as the production’s officiating analyst.

“The opportunity to be a voice on Monday Night Football, adding to its legacy and being a part of the future of the NFL on ESPN, has me motivated and reflective,” said Aikman in a statement. “As a kid in California, the voices of Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and my mom’s personal favorite, Don Meredith, echoed throughout our living room each week. Joe and I are humbled to be part of that same tradition that has existed for more than 50 years across generations of football fans.”

ESPN’s release mentions that both Buck and Aikman will contribute content to ESPN+. Besides the obvious appeal of multi-million dollar contracts, the possibility of doing more for the network besides calling Monday Night Football appeared to be a draw.

No details on what the two will do were revealed, but with Buck previously attempting an HBO talk show, maybe he’d be interested in a feature interview series. Aikman could perhaps show further insight as an analyst in ESPN+’s Detail series, though Peyton Manning has the football angle covered there. Maybe the two have interest in producing some documentary content.

It should be noted that ESPN mentioned nothing about Buck calling baseball, which was natural to speculate since he was the voice of Major League Baseball on Fox for 24 years. But with the network getting extra Wild Card playoff games in MLB’s expanded postseason, maybe Buck will make an appearance there.

“Everything about Monday Night Football, including the broadcast, set the standard for the modern NFL experience,” Buck said in the announcement. “My earliest memories of walking around football stadiums are tagging along with my dad as he called Monday Night Football on radio. To return to the stadium on Monday nights with Troy – who I have the utmost comfort with and confidence in – and begin a new chapter, for us and ESPN, has me excited about this season and our future.”

The announcement also reiterates that ESPN will broadcast 25 games each season as part of its new 10-year rights deal with the NFL. That schedule will be comprised of 23 regular-season games, a Wild Card playoff game, and a Divisional Playoff match-up. Buck and Aikman obviously can’t call all of those broadcasts, so we’ll see additional announcing teams during the season.

Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will likely be one of them when available. Will this mean that ESPN’s former MNF team of Steve Levy and Louis Riddick will also be on the call? (Brian Griese has left broadcasting with the expiration of his ESPN contract, becoming the quarterbacks coach with the San Francisco 49ers.)

Buck and Aikman’s first Monday Night Football broadcast is scheduled for Sept. 12, with Phil Dean producing and Jimmy Platt directing.

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Inside the NFL Headed To The CW For 2023

“We are excited to partner with NFL Films and welcome “Inside the NFL” to The CW Sports family.

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After being cut loose by Paramount+ earlier in the year, Inside the NFL has found a new home on The CW, premiering on September 5 at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST. The transition will mean the show is set to air on a broadcast network for the first time. It previously was carried by HBO and then Showtime. It will also be available to stream on The CW app and on cwtv.com.

The Emmy Award-winning series, which has been on the air since 1977, is centered around highlights and interviews from the previous week, with distinctive footage and audio supplied by NFL Films. It gives football fans an outlet to catch up on the action they might have missed, even though the scope of highlight shows is diminishing because of the advent of social media in an immersive content landscape.

“We are excited to partner with NFL Films and welcome Inside the NFL to The CW Sports family,” Dennis Miller, president of The CW, said in a statement. “For almost five decades, Inside the NFL has been an industry leader in showcasing can’t-miss weekly highlights, unprecedented behind-the-scenes content, exclusive access to players and lively discussion. By combining this premiere NFL content with our robust broadcast audience, we look forward to bringing this legendary sports series to more fans than ever before and to advertisers for the first time.”

Producers and hosts for the latest iteration of the show will be announced at a later date, and it will also have an impact on the fall programming schedule for the network itself. Recent editions of the show were hosted by James Brown and featured various former players, such as Brandon Marshall, Phil Simms and Julian Edelman.

“Generations of football fans have grown up watching Inside the NFL,” Ross Ketover, senior executive of NFL Films, added in a statement. “It is a show we cherish at NFL Films and we are thrilled to bring it to a great new partner in The CW. This is a special opportunity to reimagine and reboot Inside the NFL for a wider audience and a new generation of fans. We can’t wait to get started.”

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Frank Thomas Joins Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV+

“He will make his debut on June 9.”

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It didn’t take long for Frank Thomas to find a new gig. He is joining Apple TV+. He will make his Friday Night Baseball debut this week according to Front Office Sports.

Thomas’s role will involve multiple duties. He will conduct interviews with some of the game’s biggest stars. Those will take place on the field and in clubhouses before the games. He will also be in the booth for select games.

After FOX hired Derek Jeter to join its studio coverage of Major League Baseball, the network let Thomas go. He had been part of MLB on FOX since 2014. Royce Dickerson, who worked with “The Big Hurt” at FOX is now Apple’s executive producer for live sports.

Frank Thomas will not be available for Apple every week. He will be used on marquee matchups.

He will make his debut on June 9. Thomas will interview Mike Trout ahead of the Angels’ visit to Seattle to take on their division rivals, the Mariners.

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Darren Pang to Replace Colby Cohen On Blackhawks TV Crew

“At this time, we have decided it’s important for my family to be back close to our family and our home in Philadelphia.”

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Changes in media coverage for hockey are continuing amid the Stanley Cup Final with the announcement of Colby Cohen walking away from Chicago Blackhawks broadcasts. The team is reportedly hiring Darren Pang, who has been featured as a reporter on NHL on TNT national broadcasts throughout the postseason, as their lead television color commentator. He will work alongside the sophomore play-by-play voice of the team, Chris Vasters, on NBC Sports Chicago. News of the decision was first reported by Jeff Agrest of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Blackhawks television crew utilized a hybrid approach last season, rotating between Cohen, Patrick Sharp and Troy Murray. The change comes one offseason after the team revamped its television booth following the retirement of Pat Foley, which resulted in Eddie Olczyk joining the Seattle Kraken television booth. Cohen confirmed news of his exit Wednesday morning on Twitter in a statement where he expressed his gratitude for his two seasons on Blackhawks broadcasts.

“My family and I want to thank the Wirtz family and the entire Chicago Blackhawks organization for… two great years working for one of the greatest organizations in sports,” Cohen said in a tweet. “We will miss the thunderous noise of the United Center and the great city of Chicago where our daughter was born. At this time, we have decided it’s important for my family to be back close to our family and our home in Philadelphia.”

Cohen spent just over three years with NBC Sports Philadelphia as a broadcaster for the Philadelphia Flyers, and has also worked on ESPN’s NHL coverage since 2016. It is unknown if Cohen will pursue another regional broadcasting role before the start of next season. He was originally hired by the team in 2021 to serve as a content analyst, creating digital features for the Blackhawks and working on studio coverage.

Pang has worked on Bally Sports Midwest with the St. Louis Blues for the last 14 years, but is now presumably set to move on and work with the team he played for as a goaltender over parts of three seasons. Additionally, he is expected to remain with Warner Bros. Discovery, recently telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he is on the verge of inking a three-year contract extension with the company. Pang is expected to be the primary color analyst, with the team either finding new roles for Sharp and Murray or using them in a backup capacity. Most hockey insiders expect the Blackhawks to open next season with rookie sensation and consensus first-overall draft selection Connor Bedard on the roster.

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