Behind the Mic: Kenny Albert Gets Nod as Lead Broadcaster for NHL on TNT; Sports Legend Chris Berman Signs Multi-year Deal With ESPN

Behind the Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, iconic commentator Chris Berman signs multi-year ESPN extension, NHL on TNT taps Kenny Albert as lead broadcaster, and more.

Iconic Commentator Chris Berman Signs Multi-Year ESPN Extension

Legendary sports commentator and industry innovator Chris Berman has reached a new multi-year agreement with ESPN. Berman, who joined ESPN a month after its September 7, 1979 launch, will continue to bring his uniquely energetic and passionate style to various high-profile assignments.

Among the continuing roles for Berman will be hosting NFL PrimeTime on ESPN+, a signature weekly series that showcases his exceptional ability to anchor comprehensive game highlights in a one-of-a-kind format. Additionally, he will host NFL PrimeTime on ESPN after the Super Bowl and NFL Conference Championship games. He will also continue to contribute commentary, features, interviews and perspective across ESPN shows and platforms, including SportsCenter and beyond.

Berman arrived at ESPN in October 1979 as a 24-year-old sportscaster and became one of the industry’s most popular voices during his more than 41-year career at the company. A six-time National Sportscaster of the Year, Berman has been recognized with numerous honors for his long and growing list of accomplishments. He was the first sportscaster to receive the Newseum Institute’s Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Media in Washington, D.C., and he was inducted into the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame in Salisbury, N.C. In 2015, Berman was just the fifth on-air personality to be inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame.

An original SportsCenter anchor, Berman hosted countless editions of ESPN’s signature program over the years. His NFL studio contributions have been particularly significant. From 1987-2005, he and longtime partner Tom Jackson teamed together for NFL PrimeTime, the first show of its kind and cable television’s all-time highest-rated sports studio show. The show returned in 2019 to its current ESPN+ home. He was the face of ESPN’s NFL Countdown for 31 years (through the 2016 season), an industry record for a weekly pro football studio show host.

His “Fastest Three Minutes in Television” halftime highlights has also been a staple during ESPN’s weekly NFL primetime game through the years, and his “Swami” segment on SportsCenter, dubbed “The Two Minute Drill,” has been a fixture throughout his ESPN tenure. The 2010 recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football, Berman has covered 39 Super Bowls, hosted the NFL Draft for 30 years (through 2016), and has served as Master of Ceremony for the prestigious Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction since 1999.

Berman’s impact on the sports world goes well beyond football. He has called Major League Baseball games on TV and radio and hosted Baseball Tonight studio shows for many years. Most notably, Berman called ESPN’s Emmy Award-winning telecast of Cal Ripken’s 2,131st consecutive game on September 6, 1995, and he became a fan favorite nationally for the nicknames he created in his sports highlights. In all, he has covered 31 MLB All Star games, including calling Home Run Derbys in each of those years, and 30 World Series. Berman also covered the U.S. Open golf tournament from 1986-2014, and he co-hosted ESPN and ABC’s Stanley Cup Playoff telecasts in 2003 and 2004.

Berman graduated from Brown University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. His first broadcasting position came while he was a student at Brown as sports director for WBRU Radio and commentator for basketball, football, ice hockey and baseball games. He also assisted with NBC Sports telecasts in New England – including the memorable Game 6 of the 1975 World Series – and served as a correspondent for WEAN, a Providence, R.I. news radio station.

Berman began his career as a disc jockey at WERI in Westerly, RI, hosting a news-oriented talk show and covering high school football and basketball games. One year later, he joined WNVR Radio in Waterbury, Conn., broadcasting high school football games, co-hosting a sports talk show and doing traffic reports. His first television exposure came in 1979 when he joined WVIT-TV, an NBC affiliate in Hartford, Conn., as a weekend sports anchor. (ESPN)

NHL on TNT Taps Kenny Albert as Lead Broadcaster

Kenny Albert will be the voice of the NHL on TNT.

With the move, Albert will man the mic as the voice of the Stanley Cup for four of the next eight finals. With Doc Emrick retired, Albert is expected to call the finals in NBC’s last season with hockey. He will then shift to TNT. (New York Post)

Chris Webber Out at TNT on Eve of NBA Playoffs

Chris Webber and TNT have agreed to part ways Thursday on the eve of the NBA playoffs. Webber had been with TNT since 2008. (New York Post)

Mike Tirico, Danica Patrick To Be Joined By Jimmie Johnson for NBC’s Studio Coverage of 105th Running of Indianapolis 500

INDYCAR Rookie and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will join Mike Tirico and Danica Patrick for its studio coverage of the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 30. Tirico and Patrick return to Indianapolis 500 coverage for the third consecutive year, with Johnson making his on-air debut as a Peacock Pit Box analyst alongside NBC Sports’ Steve Letarte.

Tirico and Patrick reprise their Indy 500 roles from the past two races, contributing to pre-race, in-race, and post-race coverage. One of the most versatile voices in sports, Tirico also hosts NBC Olympics’ primetime coverage, Football Night in America and many other premier events across the NBC Sports portfolio of properties. Patrick, one of motorsports’ most popular personalities, is a former INDYCAR and NASCAR driver who became the first woman to lead laps and earn a top-five finish in the Indianapolis 500 in 2005.

A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Johnson made his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut this season at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and will compete at street and road circuits throughout 2021. Johnson will serve as an analyst on race day and Qualifying weekend, working at the Peacock Pit Box alongside Letarte, who will also be making his Indy 500 on-air debut.

For the third consecutive year, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing will be called by NBC Sports’ lead INDYCAR team of Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Townsend Bell (analyst), and Paul Tracy (analyst). Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, and Kevin Lee will serve as pit reporters.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of racing’s most popular personalities and an NBC Sports motorsports analyst, will be a part of pre-race coverage. NBC Sports motorsports reporter Rutledge Wood returns for the third straight year to provide on-site reports around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while NBC Sports’ Jac Collinsworth will make his Indy 500 debut when he serves as host of pre-race coverage on NBCSN at 9 a.m. ET. Pre-race coverage begins on NBC at 11 a.m. ET, with the green flag dropping at 12:30 p.m. ET. (NBC Sports)

ESPN Re-Signs Multifaceted Reporter and Host Marty Smith

ESPN has re-signed reporter and host Marty Smith to a multi-year contract extension. Smith, one of ESPN’s most popular and recognized on-air personalities, will continue his work on a variety of sports and properties, including college football and basketball, a multitude of professional sports, the NFL Draft, motorsports and more.

Smith is a storytelling fixture in the golf and horseracing worlds as well, working prestigious events such as the Masters and all three Triple Crown races – Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. Next week, he will work his first PGA Championship assignment at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, S.C. The Virginia native also hosts the Marty Smith’s America podcast and co-hosts SEC Network’s and ESPN Radio’s Marty & McGee alongside his close friend Ryan McGee, while contributing across high-profile studio programming, including College GameDay, SportsCenter, SEC Nation, and more.

Smith started with ESPN in 2006, and from 2007-2014, the Radford University alum was ESPN’s lead NASCAR reporter for both SportsCenter and the former NASCAR Now program. In addition to reporting for SportsCenter and writing news and features for ESPN.com, Smith also contributed to ESPN’s NASCAR event television coverage, which concluded in 2014, with numerous unique features and extensive, in-depth and revealing interviews with nearly every top driver in the sport.

Prior to joining ESPN, Smith was a senior writer for NASCAR.com, an analyst and host on the former SPEED Channel and a NASCAR analyst on Fox Sports Net. Smith covered sports for daily newspapers in Roanoke and Lynchburg, Va., before joining NASCAR.com. (ESPN)

NBC Sports To Use Steve Kornacki on Olympics Coverage, Football Night in America

Steve Kornacki has a new contract with NBC, and that new contract calls for an expanded role for with NBC Sports. His assignments will include a regular spot on Football Night in America and roles covering the Olympics and horse racing for NBC. Additionally, he’ll be making appearances on the NBC RSNs. (NBC Sports)

Kelly Stewart Joins ESPN as Sports Betting Analyst

Kelly Stewart is joining ESPN as a sports betting analyst, expanding the network’s roster of analysts as coverage of sports betting continues to grow across ESPN’s platforms.

Known on social media as @KellyInVegas, Stewart will serve as an analyst on ESPN’s daily sports betting news and information program Daily Wager along with the Daily Wager podcast and other ESPN sports betting platforms including radio shows, podcasts and specials as well as on SportsCenter and across the network’s other programs. She will begin in June.

Breaking into the sports betting scene over the last decade, Stewart most recently has been an analyst for Bleacher Report and for WagerTalk.com, Stewart also has appeared across multiple other platforms over the years including betting programs and websites, ESPN Radio in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal and more. Stewart was featured in the Showtime docu-series ACTION in 2019.

In 2012, Stewart gained notoriety in the sports betting world for winning an 85/1, three-team moneyline college football parlay and added to her resume by cashing the 2014 “Mini Contest” in the Westgate’s prestigious SuperContest.

A native of Manhattan, Kansas, Stewart earned a degree in Business Administration, specializing in Marketing, and a minor in Leadership Studies at Kansas State University. (ESPN)

Fox NFL and College Football Personalities Headline Broadcast Team for The Spring League

Fox Sports has unveiled its all-star broadcast lineup for the 2021 season of The Spring League.

FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt, FOX NFL and college football analyst Brock Huard, FOX college football analysts Mark Helfrich and Petros Papadakis, and quarterback coach Jordan Palmer serve as TSL game analysts. They are joined in the booth by FOX Sports and Big Ten Network play-by-play announcers Kevin Kugler and Brandon Gaudin, as well as Alex Faust and Noah Eagle.

Klatt, a former record-setting University of Colorado quarterback is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst. In 2020, he also served on the network’s debut TSL coverage and provides analysis leading up to and during the NFL Draft.

NFL veteran quarterback Huard joined FOX Sports in 2019 as a college football analyst and expanded his role in 2020 to include a full slate of NFL matchups on FOX.

Former Oregon head coach Helfrich first joined FOX Sports as a college football game analyst in 2017. He returned to the network in 2020 after a stint as the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears.

Papadakis, a former University of Southern California football standout, has served as a FOX Sports college football analyst since 2004. A lifelong Angeleno, Papadakis hosts the popular “Petros and Money” radio show as well as “The Challenge” on KNBC in Los Angeles.

After seven years in the NFL, Palmer transitioned to the coaching business and has become a renowned quarterback coach for some of the NFL’s top talent, including Trevor Lawrence, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. He returns to the TSL booth for the second season.

Longtime broadcaster Kugler serves as a play-by-play announcer for the NFL on FOX in addition to college football and basketball duties with FOX Sports, Big Ten Network and Westwood One radio.

Versatile play-by-play announcer Gaudin works across NFL, college football and basketball properties for FOX Sports, Big Ten Network and Westwood One. He also serves as the voice of EA Sports’ “Madden NFL” franchise.

Faust serves as the lead television play-by-play announcer of the Los Angeles Kings and handles play-by-play for the Tennis Channel as well as various FOX Sports college properties. He returns to the TSL booth for the second season.

Eagle is the radio voice of the Los Angeles Clippers and handled play-by-play for Nickelodeon’s first-ever broadcast of an NFL Wild Card Game in 2021. He also serves as an announcer for the Tennis Channel and contributed to FOX Sports’ coverage of the Jr. NBA Championships. (Fox Sports)