Behind the Mic: Returning Trio of Joe Tessitore, Booger McFarland, Lisa Salters Comprise the New Monday Night Football Look By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor
Friday, May 10, 2019 - 9:00 am
Print This Story
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 revamps their Monday Night Football booth after the departure of Jason Witten, a former Mets manager joins MLB on Fox, the ACC Network adds a former Georgia Tech running back, NBC Sports Chicago signs a long-time on-air talent, the Premier Lacrosse League introduces their inaugural broadcast team, and Fox Sports gears up for yet another PBC Fight Night.
Play-by-play voice Joe Tessitore, analyst Booger McFarland, and reporter Lisa Salters will make their debut as ESPN's new commentator team when Monday Night Football kicks off its 50th season this fall.
Tessitore, McFarland, and Salters - joined by new Officiating Analyst John Parry - will kick off the 2019 regular season on Monday, September 9 when the New Orleans Saints host the Houston Texans (7 p.m. ET) as part of ESPN's opening-night doubleheader.
This fall, McFarland will move from his field-level analyst position in 2018 to the booth, alongside Tessitore.
Booger's insight, personality, and passion for the game make him the right person for the job. He and Joe have been close friends since they helped ESPN launch the SEC Network five years ago. Their chemistry together in the booth - and with Lisa - will give us a team that fans want to spend Monday nights with this fall, said Stephanie Druley, ESPN Executive Vice President, Event and Studio Production.
In 2018, Tessitore became just the sixth person to occupy the coveted MNF play-by-play position after working as a premier broadcaster on ESPN and ABC college football games for the better part of two decades. Highly versatile and one of the top game-callers in sports, Tessitore is also the lead blow-by-blow ringside commentator for Top Rank Boxing on ESPN.
We're all excited to kick off the 50th season of Monday Night Football and I am especially happy for Booger whose unique talent and uncommon perspective will now be showcased even more prominently in his new role, said Tessitore. With Lisa and the addition of Super Bowl referee John Parry, our goal is simple: serve the fan by documenting the event and celebrating the game as best we can.
McFarland, a two-time Super Bowl champion, joined MNF in 2018 after serving as a college football analyst for four years on ESPN, ABC and the SEC Network. Widely praised for his football insights and gregarious persona, McFarland regularly contributes to a variety of studio programs and he was part of ESPN and ABC's NFL Draft coverage last week in Nashville.
I'm so excited to continue to be part of Monday Night Football, especially with the opportunity to be in the booth for the 50th season, working with true professionals and friends like Joe and Lisa, he said. We have a great slate of games and I look forward to starting our journey in Louisiana, where I was born and raised, with the Texans-Saints game in early September.
Salters, who has signed a new multi-year ESPN extension, will return for her eighth MNF season this fall. An Emmy-winning reporter with more than two decades of experience, Salters is a sideline reporter for both MNF and NBA games on ESPN and ABC, as well as a featured correspondent for the award-winning E:60 news magazine.
It continues to be my privilege to be a part of the MNF team, she said. Tess and Booger are both a pleasure to work with - and will prove to be the perfect duo to lead us forward
Terry Collins, a highly revered former manager of the New York Mets, Houston Astros, and Los Angeles Angels, joins Fox Sports as a studio analyst for the 2019 MLB season. The announcement was made by Brad Zager, Executive Vice President of Production & Operations and Executive Producer, Fox Sports.
Collins carries his fiery passion for the game from the field to the desk, making his broadcast debut on FS1's MLB Whiparound alongside host Kevin Burkhardt and Baseball Hall of Famer and analyst Frank Thomas on Thursday, May 2. The former skipper joins the network for select studio coverage throughout the regular season.
Collins, the longest-tenured manager for the Mets, currently serves as Special Assistant to the club's General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen. In his seven years as the Mets' manager (2011-2017), Collins registered 551 wins, the second-most for a manager in franchise history. Collins led the Mets to consecutive playoff appearances in 2015 and 2016, winning the National League pennant and a trip to the World Series in 2015. He also managed the 2016 National League All-Star team in San Diego (2016). Prior to his time in New York, Collins led the Angels (1997-1999) and Astros (1994-1996)
Georgia Tech fans will see former Yellow Jacket running back and team captain Roddy Jones on ACC Network (ACCN) this fall. Jones, who is currently a sideline analyst on ESPN's college football coverage, will move to the booth and serve as an analyst for ACC football games on the new, 24/7 national platform that will launch on August 22, 2019. One week later, Georgia Tech will kick off ACC's football slate on August 29 when it travels to Clemson in the season-opening game for both teams.
Jones was a four-year starter for the Yellow Jackets from 2008-11 and served as team captain his senior season. As a speedy slotback, Jones was a key figure in the Yellow Jackets' high-powered rushing attack that broke numerous long-standing school records on the way to defeating Clemson in the 2009 ACC Championship Game. While on The Fl
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
07/05/2026
Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision
Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...
07/05/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...
07/05/2026
Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...
07/05/2026
Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...
07/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, today announced that it has been granted a US Patent for its proprietary graphical overlay technology, the foundation for interact...
07/05/2026
Test & measurement innovator Leader Electronics of Europe will present an extensive range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement solutions at...
Behind the Mic: Returning Trio of Joe Tessitore, Booger McFarland, Lisa Salters Comprise the New Monday Night Football Look By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor 
