ESPN's "MNF" To Exclude In-Booth Guests, Focus On Football

By John Ourand, Staff Writer

ESPN's "MNF" Announcers To Stick To Covering Football While In Booth

ESPN's "Monday Night Football" telecasts this season will focus on all-football-all-the-time, a marked shift from the past two years when the network's announcers frequently delved into pop culture. The changes this year mean the official end to in-booth guests, which were widely criticized by fans and media critics. And they mean heavily scaled back use of sideline reporters. ESPN made its decision following a series of focus groups in San Diego, Chicago and Boston, which nearly unanimously reacted negatively to non-football types of intrusions on the game, said "MNF" director Chip Dean. "We're getting back to what we're really good at," he said. "There's an expectation and demand from sports fans that you talk about the NFL. And the majority of our audience is avid football fans." ESPN Exec VP/Production Norby Williamson pointed out that ESPN still would utilize sideline reporters, saying Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya still will attend every game. ESPN, however, plans to use them more judiciously. He pointed to Monday night's pre-season Browns-Giants game as a good example. When Browns QB Derek Anderson left the field in the second quarter, the telecast cut to Kolber, who said he had a concussion. Kolber gave a 20-second report and was never on-camera. "The reports need to be germane," Williamson said.