ESPN is going back to a three-man booth for its latest “Monday Night Football” broadcast team. Longtime “SportsCenter” anchor Steve Levy will serve as the play-by-play man with Louis Riddick and Brian Griese as the analysts.
Lisa Salters will return as sideline reporter, and John Perry is back as the officiating analyst.
The new trio will make its debut on Monday, Sept. 14 during the network’s Week 1 “MNF” doubleheader. ESPN’s new main “MNF” team will call the late game between the Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos.
“Steve, Brian and Louis are trusted voices of the NFL whose knowledge and love of football connects with fans,” said Connor Schell, ESPN Executive Vice President, Content. “We are thrilled that they will join Lisa Salters to make up our new ‘Monday Night Football’ team and share their passion and insight with football fans in what promises to be a great broadcast each week.”
ESPN’s top college football broadcast team of Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler will make their pro debut that night calling the Pittsburgh Steelers-New York Giants game. The assignment could be a hint that the duo may get some pro work this NFL season depending on what happens with college football this year, which has already seen two of the Power 5 conferences punt their seasons to the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Chris and Kirk are commentators at the top of their game and have thrilled college football fans for many years,” Shell said. “We are looking to add new opportunities to their expansive portfolios and are confident that NFL fans will be just as excited to hear one of the most prolific broadcasting duos on ‘Monday Night Football.’”
In addition to the new booth, ESPN senior coordinating producer Steve Ackels has added “MNF” to his production responsibilities, which also includes oversight of live college football games across ESPN networks.
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