Another plum assignment for Mike Greenberg. Plus: ESPN names its replacement for Robert Griffin III on its college football coverage, and more — including NASCAR on NBC and a new role for Kelsey Riggs.
Greenberg gets another plum gig as host of NFL Countdown
Mike Greenberg will assume the “Sunday NFL Countdown” hosting role previously held by the fired Sam Ponder, ESPN announced Tuesday. According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, the decision to drop Ponder was made in order to promote Greenberg, who hosts the “Get Up!” morning show and its NFL Draft coverage. Greenberg previously served as host of ESPN’s “NBA Countdown” studio show from 2021-23.
In promoting Greenberg, ESPN again passed over NFL Live host Laura Rutledge. After the network laid off Suzy Kolber last year, it picked SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt to anchor the “Monday Night Countdown” pregame.
Greenberg will be the fourth host in the history of “Sunday NFL Countdown,” following Ponder, longtime host Chris Berman and original host Bob Ley.
Riddick to replace RGIII on ESPN CFB depth chart
Louis Riddick will replace the fired Robert Griffin III on ESPN’s college football depth chart, the company announced Tuesday. Riddick will work alongside play-by-play voice Bob Wischusen and sideline reporter Kris Budden on a team that will work games on ABC and ESPN. He previously worked with Mark Jones and will be replaced on that team by Roddy Jones.
In other college football announcing news, ESPN said Tuesday that its top three broadcast teams — led by play-by-play voices Chris Fowler, Sean McDonough and Joe Tessitore — will alternate calling the new 3:30 PM ET SEC on ABC game window. NBC officially announced that Dan Hicks will return to his role as its Notre Dame football voice, replacing Jac Collinsworth in a move that was first reported months ago.
Plus: “NASCAR Nonstop,” Riggs, Gold Zone
— NBC Sports will show every green flag lap during the coming NASCAR Cup Series races from Daytona, Atlanta and Talladega as part of an initiative titled “NASCAR Nonstop,” it was announced Wednesday. Under the plan, NBC will exclusively show side-by-side ad breaks during green flag racing, rather than breaking away occasionally to show full-screen ads.
— ESPN announced Wednesday that ACC Network host Kelsey Riggs will move to SportsCenter full-time beginning later this month. Riggs had been with ACC Network since 2019, serving as host of multiple studio shows on the network. Her roles on ACC Network will now be occupied by Taylor Tannenbaum.
— NBC will resume its “Gold Zone” whiparound coverage of the coming Paris Paralympics, it was announced this week. Carolyn Manno will host the daily program, which airs on Peacock from 11 AM-4 PM ET each day during the Games.
