ESPN’s Chris Berman addressed his upcoming reduced role at the net at the beginning of Saturday's "Postseason NFL Countdown," saying, "For 38 years, I've had the best seat in the house for all that time." Berman: "I'll continue to have a good seat, which is awesome, but to be here talking football with all of our viewers, for all this time and right up through now, that's truly been a dream that's come true. It's an honor, and I know I speak for all of us to be welcomed into so many living rooms for so long, in our business, that's as rewarding as anything else I've ever experienced at ESPN” (“Postseason NFL Countdown,” ESPN, 1/7). SI.com's Richard Deitsch wrote Berman's transition was "handled very cleanly" by the network's management after it came out last week. Such talent transitions "can go ugly when a network moves on from a longtime talent, but this new deal gives Berman a chance to gracefully go out at a later date (not much heavy lifting with these assignments so he could last some time) and also gave him a day (last Thursday) where he received more positive press than he had in years." Berman’s impact on ESPN’s NFL coverage "cannot be understated." The version of "NFL PrimeTime" he did with Tom Jackson was a "revelation and he deserves all the plaudits for helping make ESPN the most well-known sports brand in the U.S." Sources said that no decision has been made on "who will replace Berman on its flagship Sunday morning NFL show or for the halftime highlights of Monday Night Football, but the jockeying for Berman’s roles have already started." Trey Wingo is "expected to take over as the host of ESPN’s opening night NFL Draft coverage." One other thing to bet on is "an expanded role for Suzy Kolber on Monday nights" (SI.com, 1/8).
FOND MEMORIES: In this week's SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, John Ourand notes many execs "who have made the biggest programming decisions in sports television over the past decades were effusive in their praise of Berman" after last week's announcement. The execs said that those in the media who have criticized Berman in recent years "did not understand Berman's unique appeal, especially his uncanny ability to connect with sports fans off the field and the athletes and coaches on the field" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/9 issue). In Richmond, Wes McElroy wrote Berman's nicknames and taglines "have become, in a way, like the grandfather who has showed us the same magic trick over and over, yet we continue to smile and nod anyway." However, it was Berman who "first made his own magic on television and created a career that’s left us using his coined phrases at sporting events." His energy "led him to becoming a household name and in turn, inspired thousands of broadcasters to try to emulate him in their highlights" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 1/8). In Chattanooga, Jay Greeson wrote Berman "has to make the ESPN Rushmore" despite the fact over the last 10 years Berman "has fallen off and been a caricature of himself." He wrote Berman would be joined by Bob Ley, the late Tom Mees and Dick Vitale (TIMESFREEPRESS.com, 1/6).
ESPN AT ITS BEST, OR WORST: In L.A., Tom Hoffarth wrote the way Berman's role reduction was "presented as the lead story on ESPN 'SportsCenter' shows and continual scrolls" throughout the day on Thursday "might have led viewers to believe" that something worse had happened (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 1/8).
