The NFL okayed NBC's request to use Mike Tirico as the play-by-play announcer for its "Thursday Night Football" productions this season, a change from last season when Al Michaels called almost all of NBC's Thursday night games. Michaels will remain the play-by-play announcer for NBC's "Sunday Night Football" games and is under contract for multiple years. Cris Collinsworth will be the analyst on both the Thursday night and Sunday night games. "We’re excited to have Mike join Cris for 'Thursday Night Football,' giving us two top teams in the booth for TV's two most watched primetime shows," an NBC Sports Group spokesperson said. The NFL's decision comes as CBS also will use a new broadcast booth on its Thursday night games, with Tony Romo replacing Phil Simms. Last year, the NFL cited its deal that specified that NBC and CBS had to use their top broadcast team on the Thursday night games, which would have meant Michaels and Collinsworth for NBC. In a statement emailed to THE DAILY, an NFL spokesperson said, "Although there have been a number of changes in the networks' broadcast booths over the past couple of seasons, our priority, and the priority of our network partners remains the same -- produce a high quality, engaging broadcast that our fans love whether its Thursday, Sunday or Monday. For 'TNF,' we get that with Mike Tirico, a terrific broadcaster, and Cris Collinsworth at NBC and the new team of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo at CBS" (John Ourand, Staff Writer).
THE MOVE ALL ALONG: AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Andrew Bucholtz wrote Tirico calling "TNF" is a "sensible decision." There is "no dispute of Tirico's ability to call a prime-time NFL game; he did that on ESPN's 'Monday Night Football'" from '06-'15. The decision keeps Michaels "fresher for his Sunday work and makes Thursday night feel a little different" (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 5/31). YAHOO SPORTS' Frank Schwab wrote while it "made sense that the NFL wanted to boost 'Thursday Night Football' with the best production possible" by having Michaels call "TNF" last year, it "seemed like an odd battle to pick because Tirico is also well respected in broadcasting" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/31). In N.Y., Hannah Withiam writes, "Congratulations, Mike Tirico. You're now apparently qualified enough to call 'Thursday Night Football'" (N.Y. POST, 6/1). SI.com's Jimmy Traina wrote to "reiterate, Tirico's resume wasn't good enough for the NFL last year," but it is "totally fine now" (SI.com, 5/31).
