After USA Today’s Michael Hiestand wrote about it Friday, Fox Sports has now sent the press release announcing its talent roster for this upcoming NFL season.
As Michael stated, there were some changes like Matt Vasgersian who departed from Fox to MLB Network and Brian Baldinger whose contract was not renewed and will be doing work on radio.
Here’s the release:
ANALYST DAVIS, LYNCH & GREEN DEEPEN NFL ON FOX ROSTERBuck, Aikman and Oliver Return as No. 1 Crew for 8th Season;
Match Legendary Summerall/Madden Team in Longevity
New York— FOX Sports officially announced today its broadcast teams for the upcoming NFL season. This year’s lineup welcomes three exciting, new faces to the FOX booth as John Lynch, Trent Green and Charles Davis join the NFL on FOX as game analysts. Also announced, six-time Emmy-Award winning play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman and reporter Pam Oliver return as the NFL on FOX’s lead broadcast team. The 2009 season marks their eighth as FOX’s lead team and matches the tenure of the legendary broadcast team of Pat Summerall and John Madden with the network. The announcement was made today by FOX Sports President Ed Goren.
“This is without a doubt, the deepest and most talented broadcast roster that we’ve had here at FOX Sports since we began covering the NFL,” said Goren. “It’s a high-energy group that will be fully prepared to deliver insightful analysis each and every game.”
Lynch, a 15-year NFL veteran and nine-time Pro Bowler, was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl-winning team in 2003. Lynch called two games for the NFL on FOX in ’08 and this season joins play-by-play announcer Ron Pitts on a full-time basis. He calls his first game Sunday, Sept. 13 in Seattle as the Seahawks host the St. Louis Rams. Trent Green, a 14-year NFL veteran and two-time Pro Bowler with the Chiefs, joins play-by-play announcer Chris Myers and calls his first game in New Orleans Week 1 as the Saints face the Detroit Lions. Charles Davis, who as the lead analyst for the BCS on FOX, has called the last three national collegiate championship games, joins the NFL on FOX for his first season pairing with veteran play-by-play man Dick Stockton. The team’s opening week assignment is in Charlotte as the defending NFC South Champion Panthers welcome the Philadelphia Eagles.
This season marks Buck’s 16th with FOX Sports and Aikman’s ninth, while sideline reporter Pam Oliver returns for her 15th. The group calls its first game from East Rutherford, NJ on Sept. 13 as the defending NFC East Champion New York Giants play host to their division rival Washington Redskins. For the third consecutive year, former Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston teams with play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert and on-field analyst Tony Siragusa. The team is in Tampa Bay Week 1 as first year head coach Raheem Morris and the Buccaneers take on Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys.
Each week, the NFL on FOX broadcast day begins with FOX NFL SUNDAY (12:00 PM ET), America’s most-watched NFL pregame show. The one-hour prelude is the recipient of 20 Emmy Awards and stars co-hosts Terry Bradshaw and Curt Menefee, analysts Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson and Michael Strahan, insider Jay Glazer and comedic prognosticator Frank Caliendo. Bradshaw and Long have been with the show since its debut in 1994, and Bradshaw won the 2008 Emmy for Outstanding Studio Analyst, his third.
FOX NFL SUNDAY holds the distinction of being the No. 1 show in its time slot for 15 straight years, and that places it alongside some of the most iconic programs ever to air. All in the Family, No. 1 for five seasons, is prime time’s longest running No. 1 hit. Only a handful of shows outside of prime time have dominated their time period in a way similar to FOX NFL SUNDAY: The Today Show was No. 1 in morning programming for over 500 straight weeks; Saturday Night Live has controlled its time period for over 30 years; The Tonight Show has topped weekday late night for decades.
The 2009 NFL on FOX campaign kicks off Sunday, Sept. 13 (1:00 PM ET) with doubleheader coverage of seven games, highlighted by the Giants/Redskins clash. Week 1 also features the high flying offense of the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals with Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald hosting the San Francisco 49ers as well as the Minnesota Vikings as they travel to Cleveland to face the Browns.
Following are the NFL on FOX announcer pairings for 2009:
Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver
Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa
Dick Stockton, Charles Davis
Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick
Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan
Ron Pitts, John Lynch
Chris Myers, Trent Green
Stockton, Pitts and Albert have the distinction of being the only members of the group to work NFL on FOX games full-time since FOX Sports’ inception in 1994. Oliver, as previously mentioned, is in her 15th season, followed by Rosen (14), Buck (12), Aikman and Johnston (9), Ryan (8), Brennaman (7), Glazer and Siragusa (6), Myers (5), Billick (2), Lynch, Green, and Davis (1).
NFL on FOX national games posted a 13.7 household rating last season, and would have ranked No. 1 among all prime-time shows in fourth quarter. Last season was the second straight year – and only the second time ever – that the NFC package beat both the AFC and the prime-time broadcast package to rank as the highest-rated NFL package. The NFC package on FOX out-rated the AFC package for the 14th straight season.
David Hill and Ed Goren are the Executive Producers of FOX Sports. Bill Brown is Senior Producer. Scott Ackerson is the Coordinating Producer of FOX NFL SUNDAY and Bob Levy directs.
I do expect a release from CBS following its NFL media luncheon next week.
