Welcome back to “On the Air,” in which Sports Media Watch Podcast co-host Armand Broady will offer in-depth breakdowns of broadcasters’ on-air performance and career journeys, plus chronicle broader trends in the industry.
Nine years ago, news of Mike Tirico’s ESPN departure rocked the sports media industry. For 25 years, Tirico had served as one of ESPN’s most versatile and visible announcers. He covered it all — the NFL, golf, college basketball, college football, tennis, the NBA, and soccer. His partnership with Jon GrudenHubie Brown developed great chemistry as the “B” team for the NBA on ESPN. Not only was Tirico a polished and multiskilled broadcaster, he’d been an ESPN lifer, much like hosts Karl Ravech, Steve Levy, Chris Berman and Chris Fowler.
It can be argued Tirico’s move to NBC was the industry’s most significant since Al Michaels was “traded” from ABC to NBC 10 years prior.
Tirico made his NBC debut in July 2016, anchoring coverage of the Open Championship. For a time, it seemed the Peacock network had to get creative in ensuring its new hire had sufficient work. Some pieces began to fall into place, like Dan Patrick leaving “Football Night in America” in 2018, clearing the path for Tirico to helm the show.
But Tirico’s patience would be tested. It would be years before the “Sunday Night Football” booth — and the career-making Super Bowl play-by-play calls that come with it — opened up. Calling Notre Dame football with Doug Flutie or Tony Dungy was fine. “Thursday Night Football” — though initially a struggle thanks to the NFL’s requirement that NBC use its lead voice (Michaels) on TNF — was all right, but Tirico was destined to propel himself into the sportscasting stratosphere, the perch on which current greats like Buck, Nantz and Michaels have stood for some time. He would have to wait a while before he could lay claim to the title “NBC Sports’ preeminent voice.”
He addressed his time in the NBC on-deck circle with Andrew Marchand back in 2023.
“I probably would have gotten frustrated if we didn’t have the Olympics, Notre Dame football, and all the stuff that I’m involved with going on,” Tirico said. “Being involved in our Triple Crown coverage, the Indy 500 … that was plenty. The plate was so full and all of it was so new that it didn’t build in frustration. Wait your turn and when you get the opportunity, do the best you can.”
Now, Tirico, 58, is the unquestioned face of the network. After being forced off the Kentucky Derby broadcast earlier this month due to a negative response to a nut allergy, Tirico was back on the air Saturday anchoring the Preakness Stakes.
In 2026, Tirico will call his first Super Bowl in the booth (he hosted the trophy ceremony three times for ABC), host the Winter Olympics, and return to the NBA as NBC’s lead play-by-play voice.
These days, it is somewhat rare for a lead network broadcaster to be this ubiquitous. Brent Musburger was CBS Sports’ omnipresent megastar in the 1970s and 1980s, but those days have largely vanished. Prior to his move from Fox to ESPN, Joe Buck had already given up a significant portion of his baseball play-by-play. Two years ago, Jim Nantz stepped away from CBS college basketball play-by-play duties.
Tirico is a rare breed, a primary broadcaster who seems to enjoy calling or hosting every big event his company produces.
And when he isn’t calling a game or hosting an event, he’s sitting beside Savannah Guthrie filling in ably on “The Today Show.”
At one point, Tirico leaving ESPN seemed unfathomable. ESPN’s comprehensive portfolio meshed with his unmistakable versatility. But now, Tirico has cemented himself as a true network broadcasting heavyweight, and arguably the most valuable sportscaster in American television today.
Plus: Pasch, Legler, meet the moment in Game 6
Throughout Thursday’s Thunder-Nuggets NBA playoff Game 6, Tim Legler proved once again why he is ESPN’s best NBA analyst. While he is best-known for his detailed tape breakdowns, Legler has a knack for providing short bursts of strong color commentary, and he does it without smothering the broadcast.
Throughout the night, his partner Dave Pasch covered the drama beautifully, delivering useful stats, notes and nuggets, and capturing the drama of Denver player Julian Strawther’s unexpected 15-point performance.
The production crew did a solid job at handling the Jamal Murray subplot. Murray, who finished with 25 huge points in Denver’s series-tying win, was listed as questionable before the game because of an illness. After Denver took an 18-12 lead midway through the opening period, ESPN went to a commercial. Viewers were brought back with a Legler-narrated highlight package illustrating the ways Murray had impacted the game.
Following the clips, viewers were shown a supporting graphic informing us that Murray had scored or assisted on 14 of Denver’s 18 points. It was crisp, well-produced television.
Pasch brings great energy, and Legler constantly delivers with even-handed, straightforward analysis.
ESPN’s NBA coverage has been vilified — much of it deservedly so — but Pasch/Legler are a definite bright spot.
