NBC’s Mike Tirico is the new in-studio host of Football Night in America. In other news, Ryen Russillo and Chris Myers have reportedly reached contract extensions and Trevor Bauer has apologized to ESPN.
Tirico Replacing Patrick in Football Night Studio
NBC Sports announced Monday that Mike Tirico will replace Dan Patrick as the in-studio host of Football Night in America. Tirico previously hosted the on-site portions of the show and will be replaced in that role by Liam McHugh. The rest of the FNIA team remains intact, with analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison in-studio and Cris Collinsworth on-site.
Tirico is entering his third year on NBC’s NFL roster, having previously served as ESPN’s Monday Night Football voice from 2006-16. [NBC Sports PR 8.20]
Ryen Russillo Reportedly Re-Ups
ESPN personality Ryen Russilo is close to renewing his deal with the company, The Athletic‘s Richard Deitsch reported via Twitter Monday. Russillo, in his 12th year with ESPN, said late last year that he would leave the company at the end of this summer. He initially planned to spend his final months with ESPN hosting his podcast, but has taken on other roles in recent weeks, including a stint guest hosting ESPN’s Get Up! morning show. [Richard Deitsch/Twitter 8.20]
Myers Reaches Extension With Fox
Fox Sports has reached a contract extension with broadcaster Chris Myers, Sports Business Journal reported Monday, with the deal lasting at least three years. Sources told Sports Media Watch that Myers will remain in his current roles on NFL coverage and continue to cover NASCAR and Major League Baseball, though there may be some adjustments to the latter two assignments. In addition, he will take on additional assignments that have yet to be made public. Myers joined Fox Sports in 1998, after a previous stint with ESPN. [SBJ 8.20]
Bauer Apologizes to ESPN
In a video posted to his Twitter account Monday, Cleveland Indians P Trevor Bauer apologized to ESPN for accusing the network of reporting a satirical tweet about him as actual news. As previously reported by SMW, ESPN denied airing the tweet either during its programs or on the BottomLine. According to Bauer, ESPN said it “diligently searched [its] records and broadcasts for any sign of the fake tweet and found nothing.” Bauer, who said he had seen the tweet mentioned on ESPN’s BottomLine, had initially demanded an apology from the network.
It should be noted that MLB Network did report on the tweet as a real story and later apologized. [Trevor Bauer/Twitter 8.20]
