Behind the Mic: ESPN Rolls Out Broadcasting Teams for Week 1 of College Football Season; CBS Reveals Names of NFL On-Air Talent By SVG Staff
Thursday, August 26, 2021 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Behind the Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, ESPN kicks off college football coverage with dynamic commentator teams in Week 1, CBS Sports unveils NFL on CBS announcer lineup, and more.
ESPN Kicks Off College Football Week 1 Coverage With Dynamic Commentator Teams ESPN will kick off its coverage of the 2021-22 college football season in Week 1 with nearly 60 games, including the highly-anticipated non-conference matchups in the Duke's Mayo Classic in Charlotte - No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 3 Clemson - and Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta - No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 14 Miami. The opening weekend slate features games on six consecutive nights (Sept. 1-6) and culminates with primetime showdowns Sunday on ABC (No. 9 Notre Dame at Florida State) and on the traditional Labor Day Monday on ESPN (Louisville vs. Ole Miss).
In all, four of the top-five teams and nine of the top 10 in the 2021 AP preseason rankings will be in action across ESPN platforms during week 1.
ESPN's week 1 schedule features teams from all 10 FBS conferences and games are set for a total of 10 ESPN platforms - ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, Big 12 Now on ESPN , ESPN3, ESPN , SEC Network (SECN ) and ESPN Radio.
With the start of the new season, ESPN's unmatched roster of commentators will feature a mix of familiar faces, new assignments, a host of newcomers and the return of many veteran voices.
Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and reporter Holly Rowe will team up to call the weekly ABC Saturday Night Football presented by Capital One marquee matchup, beginning with one of the most-anticipated games of the season - the top-five showdown between Georgia and Clemson in the Duke's Mayo Classic in Charlotte.
The 2021 season marks Fowler and Herbstreit's eighth year in the SNF booth and their 26th season as college football teammates, having worked together since 1996 on College GameDay. Fowler and Herbstreit have called every College Football Playoff National Championship. Rowe joins the team following the recent announcement of her move to the SNF crew, as she kicks off her 26th season covering college football for ESPN and ABC.
Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, field analyst Todd McShay, and reporter Molly McGrath will open the season with defending College Football Playoff National Champion and preseason No. 1 Alabama against No. 14 Miami in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta.
McDonough and Blackledge will work together for the third year, joined for a second season by McShay and McGrath, who is back on the sidelines after taking maternity leave at the end of 2020. McDonough - also a leading voice in ESPN's NHL coverage this fall - and Blackledge combine for more than four decades of broadcast experience, while McShay continues to serve as one of ESPN's NFL Draft experts and McGrath covers a multitude of college sports across ESPN networks as both a reporter and host.
Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy, and Katie George will open the season in Tallahassee for a Sunday primetime matchup on ABC that is steeped in tradition - No. 9 Notre Dame at Florida State.
This will be the second straight season that longtime ESPN play-by-play voice Tessitore and former Alabama National Champion quarterback McElroy are partnering in the ABC and ESPN booth. For the better part of two decades, Tessitore has been a premier broadcaster for ESPN and ABC's coverage of college football, as well as the veteran blow-by-blow ringside commentator for Top Rank Boxing on ESPN and the co-host of Holey Moley on ABC. McElroy is beginning his sixth season calling games for ESPN and has studio experience on ESPN and SEC Network as well. This fall, George moves to ABC and ESPN games following her first two seasons on ACC Network Primetime.
Notable ESPN and ABC games on Saturday, Sept. 4:
ESPN Events' Texas Kickoff: Texas Tech vs. Houston (7 p.m., ESPN): ESPN newcomer and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III joins ESPN mainstays Mark Jones and Quint Kessenich this season. Jones completed his 30th year with ESPN last fall, serving as a college football commentator as well as one of the company's leading NBA play-by-play voices.
Western Michigan vs. Michigan (Noon, ESPN): Bob Wischusen and Dan Orlovsky are back together for a third season, joined in Ann Arbor by Kris Budden. Wischusen, a college football, basketball and NHL voice for ESPN, is also the New York Jets radio voice. In addition to calling college games, Orlovsky continues to appear across a number of ESPN shows, including as a lead analyst on NFL Live. Budden has been a regular on ABC and ESPN coverage since moving over from SEC Network following the 2018 season.
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. Tulane (Noon, ABC): Dave Pasch and Dusty Dvoracek will call games together for the first time this fall, beginning with the Sooners-Green Wave matchup. A versatile football and basketball play-by-play voice - who also calls Arizona Cardinals NFL games, Pasch joined ESPN in 2003. A two-time Oklahoma captain and former NFL Draft pick, Dvoracek continues to expand his ESPN role. Veteran field analyst Tom Luginbill, who has been with ESPN for more than 15 years and previously worked with Pasch, will join the duo.
ESPN Events' Vegas Kickoff Classic: BYU vs. Arizona (10:30 p.m., ESPN): Dave Flemming and Rod Gilmore are teaming up on ESPN and ABC this fall, with Flemming continuing his play-by-play commentary for college football, basketball, baseball and MLB, and Gilmore kickin
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Behind the Mic: ESPN Rolls Out Broadcasting Teams for Week 1 of College Football Season; CBS Reveals Names of NFL On-Air Talent By SVG Staff 
