Posted in The Soapbox
6 comments
08/30 2010

Ken Fang: Where Is The Next Generation of Play-by-Play Announcers?

Posted by Ken Fang.

Marv Albert, Dick Enberg, Ron Franklin, Greg Gumbel, Verne Lundquist, Al Michaels, Brent Musburger, Dick Stockton, Vin Scully. What do these broadcasters have in common asides from being very good? They’re at the point where they’re probably going to retire from sports play-by-play in this decade.

Let’s face it: we’re in a period of transition. Many announcers with whom we have grown up are now in their twilight years and will be hanging up their proverbial microphones. The question is, who is going to replace them? Back in the late 1970′s to mid-1980′s, sports television had a similar transition, but there was a surplus of young talent to take their place.

NBC had Dick Enberg to replace Curt Gowdy and also had a young Bob Costas in the bullpen. ABC could rely on Al Michaels. CBS brought in Jim Nantz and Greg Gumbel.

However, as the years progress, we’ll begin to see many of these voices leave the airwaves. Enberg has already stopped calling college basketball and the NFL for CBS, although we’ll see him do tennis for CBS and ESPN2 for a few more years. Marv Albert has weaned himself off the NFL on Westwood One Radio and is cutting back his schedule to only call the NBA for TNT and YES Network.

As far as the top voices of the NFL are concerned, they’re probably going to around for a while. CBS has Jim Nantz (age 51), Fox has Joe Buck (age 41) and ESPN has Mike Tirico (age 43). But NBC has Al Michaels who’s eligible for Social Security at age 65.

Dick Stockton, Sam Rosen and Greg Gumbel are in their 60′s. Legendary ESPN announcers  Musburger and Franklin can’t be expected to be on the job ten years from now, although you never know. And CBS’ Verne Lundquist, 70, has been Old Reliable for the network for many years.

CBS appears to be in good shape with Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan and Gus Johnson ready to take the network into the next 20 years. Fox also has Kenny Albert and Josh Lewin.

However, who will come after them? CBS appears to be nurturing Spero Dedes (age 31. pictured) into a starring role, hiring him for NCAA basketball as well as some NFL games this season. ESPN has hired Carter Blackburn for college basketball and football, but he’s been hidden on ESPNU.

But after Blackburn and Dedes, there is nary a young announcer.

NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol has lamented the shortage of young play-by-play callers saying many college graduates prefer to be sports anchors. This can be attributed to the popularity of ESPN’s SportsCenter among young sports fans.

So while the older generation of play-by-play announcers continue broadcasting into this decade, we will soon start to see them retire one-by-one. An aspiring broadcaster might find him or herself on the fast track to the network if an executive sees some potential. Where the networks will find this new talent is anyone’s guess.

(This post was written by Ken Fang. Read more of his media news and commentary at Fangs Bites).

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Posted on August 30, 2010 at 9:41AM

 

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  1. Will Carroll
    08/30 2010

    Jon Sciambi on ESPN is young and solid. I’m curious if they’re doing less nurturing bc they think they can just grab the best young announcer from a team or regional site.

  2. Dan Levy
    08/30 2010

    I think, to Will’s point, the networks can pluck a guy from a local team’s crew. Dedes is a good example of that. I do wish some younger people get their chance to call more NFL/college games or other bigtime sporting events (Olympics, NCAA tournament, etc). Andrew Catalon — called the curling for NBC — is a guy I think should get more of a national look.

    Also, I think there are probably more people in their 40s and 50s who could be around another 10-20 years that weren’t mentioned: Nessler, Breen, etc. But Ken’s point is very good…lots of old veterans who will be gone within 10 years. The shuffling to work up the ranks to replace them is really fun to watch.

  3. Derek Oscarson
    08/30 2010

    As a NYY fan I often watch the Yanks opponent feed out of sheer contempt for Kay and Sterling. I think it just comes down to class. Jim Kaat left a huge vacuum in the YES booth which Kay decided to fill with spoiled petulance. Ugh.

    TBS actually does the best broadcast for my money. Classic graphics, understated announcers who know that the broadcast isn’t about them and aside from that Don Cherry ripoff sideline reporter, no gimmicks or fucking robots.

    I’ve been watching Dodgers broadcasts just to hear Vin Scully. Some don’t like him but to me his voice goes down like a well-aged single malt.

  4. John Lewis
    08/30 2010

    Let’s not forget about Tom Hammond on NBC as part of the aging sports announcer club. However, plenty of talent awaits to take over, Mark Jones and Dave Pasch at ESPN, Graig Bolerjack at CBS can still bring it, just to mention a few. Dare I mention a few of the more talented female announcers like Amy Lawrence who’s time maybe calling.

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