ESPN’s acquisition of NFL Network continues to shake up the league’s broadcasting ranks.
Former NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero, who was laid off from the now ESPN-owned outlet last month, has reached multi-year deals to join both Netflix and Spotify’s The Ringer, it was announced Monday. Pelissero will serve as a sideline reporter for Netflix across all four of its game dates this season, starting with the 49ers-Rams International Series game from Australia in Week 1, followed by Packers-Rams on Thanksgiving Eve, one of the streamer’s two Christmas Day games, and a Week 18 Saturday matinee.
His duties for The Ringer will include writing about the NFL, co-hosting “The Ringer NFL Show,” and appearing weekly on “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” Those podcasts also stream on Netflix as part of a deal between the streamer and Ringer parent company Spotify.
According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, Pelissero was under consideration to serve as the insider on Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” coverage, filling a role that his former colleague Ian Rapaport can no longer occupy due to his new combined role on ESPN and NFL Network. Per Marchand, another ex-NFL Network reporter — James Palmer — will get that position.
As for NFL Network itself, ESPN is reportedly close to finalizing the broadcast teams it will use on the channel’s seven-game NFL slate this season. According to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, longtime NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner is expected to work with ESPN’s Dave Pasch on one team, and Bob Wischusen would pair with Louis Riddick on the other. (The seven-game NFL Network slate includes one doubleheader, necessitating a second team.)
Riddick is the only one of the four broadcasters who worked on ESPN’s secondary NFL broadcast team last season, alongside Chris Fowler and Dan Orlovsky.
On the sidelines, Molly McGrath will serve as the sideline reporter on the main NFL Network team. Peter Schrager, who along with Katie George worked the sidelines on ESPN’s “B” team last season, could serve in a sideline role in the week when NFL Network has two games.
