With the hiring of John Dockery as an NFL game analyst,
CBS yesterday completed its announcer pairings for the
upcoming NFL season. The net's No. 1 broadcast team will
feature Greg Gumbel on play-by-play, Phil Simms as analyst
and Armen Keteyian as sideline reporter, while its No. 2
team consists of Dick Stockton, Randy Cross and Michele
Tafoya (CBS Sports). In Baltimore, Milton Kent reports that
in an effort to make its AFC coverage different from NBC's,
CBS "passed over longtime NBC veterans like Charlie Jones
and Bob Trumpy," and instead hired "newcomers" such as Ian
Eagle and Steve Tasker. CBS Exec Producer Terry Ewert said
the net "wanted to forge our own way and go in a different
direction" with its AFC broadcasts. Kent adds that one
"stark difference from NBC" will be CBS's planned use of a
"Fox Box" type in-game score and clock graphic (SUN, 7/24).
In WI, Bob Wolfley writes that "there has to be some serious
doubts" about CBS's "NFL Today" studio show, which will
feature TV newcomers Marcus Allen, Brent Jones and George
Seifert, along with host Jim Nantz. Wolfley: "The
announcing teams will take care of themselves. The real
risk here is with 'The NFL Today'" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL
SENTINEL, 7/24). In FL, Ernest Hooper reports that while
CBS's announcing teams "are solid," the studio crew "remains
a question mark." CBS's Ewert, on the studio team: "We gave
these guys a pretty tough walk-through, one of the toughest
I've seen because ... we don't want to put a new group on
the air that's not experienced" (ST. PETE TIMES, 7/24).
A NEW DIRECTION? CBS TV President & CEO Leslie Moonves
said yesterday that he "expects ratings growth next fall
because of the promotional boost provided by [NFL] games and
a broader range of new entertainment series," according to
Stephen Battaglio of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Speaking at
the TV Critics Association summer press tour, Moonves said
the net's inclusion of "edgier comedies" and "male-oriented
action" shows in its new fall lineup was part of an effort
to "reverse the trend of recent years" when, Battaglio
writes, "a huge portion of its male audience, especially the
younger cohort, has disappeared." And while CBS "has tried
to change its audience profile" during recent seasons, it
"is acting more confident" this year because of the presence
of NFL games on its schedule (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/24).
