The following is a list of the television networks and announcers who have broadcast the National Football League's Pro Bowl throughout the years.
1950s[]
| Year | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | not televised | ||
| 1952 | NBC | Harry Wismer | Bill Stern |
| 1953 | NBC | Bud Foster | Mark Scott |
| 1954 | DuMont | Tom Harmon | Red Grange |
| 1955 | not televised | ||
| 1956 | not televised | ||
| 1957 | not televised | ||
| 1958 | NBC | Joe Tucker | Van Patrick |
| 1959 | NBC | Jim Gibbons | Van Patrick |
- Notes
- From the 1951 thru the 1964 seasons, the Pro Bowl television rightsholders were the Los Angeles Newspaper Charities, as opposed to the National Football League. Since the 1965 season, the NFL has owned the telecast rights.[citation needed]
- The DuMont Television Network obtained rights to the 1955 game from the Los Angeles Newspaper Charities just one week before the game date. As they had trouble lining up affiliates to cover the game on such short notice, the telecast was cancelled.[citation needed]
- Both NBC and CBS passed on the rights to the 1957 game. ABC apparently considered televising the game, but could not gain enough clearance of affiliates to make a telecast feasible. So for the third straight year, there was no telecast.[citation needed]
1960s[]
| Year | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | NBC | Bob Kelley | Ray Scott |
| 1961 | NBC | Lindsey Nelson | Frankie Albert |
| 1962 | NBC | Lindsey Nelson | Chuck Thompson |
| 1963 | NBC | Chuck Thompson | Ken Coleman |
| 1964 | NBC | Chris Schenkel | George Connor |
| 1965 | NBC | Ken Coleman | Gordie Soltau |
| 1966 | CBS | Jack Drees | Frank Gifford |
| 1967 | CBS | Lindsey Nelson | Pat Summerall |
| 1968 | CBS | Jack Buck | Tom Brookshier |
| 1969 | CBS | Jack Whitaker | Pat Summerall |
1970s[]
| Year | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) | Sideline reporter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | CBS | Don Criqui | Frank Gifford | Frank Glieber |
| 1971 | CBS | Jack Whitaker | Frank Gifford | Bruce Roberts |
| 1972 | NBC | Curt Gowdy | Al DeRogatis | |
| 1973 | CBS | Frank Glieber | Alex Hawkins | Bruce Roberts |
| 1974 | NBC | Curt Gowdy | Al DeRogatis | |
| 1975 | ABC | Frank Gifford | Howard Cosell and Alex Karras | |
| 1976 | ABC | Frank Gifford | Howard Cosell and Alex Karras | |
| 1977 | ABC | Frank Gifford | Howard Cosell and Alex Karras | |
| 1978 | ABC | Frank Gifford | Howard Cosell and Don Meredith | |
| 1979 | ABC | Frank Gifford | Howard Cosell and Don Meredith |
- Notes
- For the first four seasons following the AFL-NFL merger (1970–1973), CBS and NBC alternated coverage of the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl.[citation needed]
- The game was part of ABC's Monday Night Football package from the 1974 through 1986 seasons (the 1975–1987 games).[citation needed]
1980s[]
- Notes
- In 1980 (the first year that the Pro Bowl was in Hawaii), Al Michaels filled-in for Frank Gifford on play-by-play. Gifford was in Austria covering the World Championships of Skiing.[citation needed]
- Although Hawaii does not have an NFL team of its own, the Pro Bowl games played there from 1980–2009 were still subject to the NFL's blackout policies, requiring the game to be blacked out within the state of Hawaii if all seats were not sold out by the specified 72-hour deadline.[1][2]
1990s[]
2000s[]
- Notes
- In 2003, John Madden declined to be part of the announcing crew due to his aviatophobia and claustrophobia. He was replaced on the telecast by former San Diego Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts whom Madden had replaced on the Monday Night Football crew. This was also the case in 2009, when Cris Collinsworth filled in for Madden on NBC's coverage.[citation needed]
- In 2004–2006, ABC (who by the early 2000s, had been suffering through several years of dismal ratings) sold its rights to the Pro Bowl (which had been part of the Monday Night Football package since 1995) to sister network ESPN. In those years, the ESPN Sunday Night Football crew covered the game. Prior to the game being moved to ESPN, ABC considered moving the game to Monday night.[citation needed]
- Under the eight year television contract beginning in 2006, the network that broadcasts the Super Bowl will also get the Pro Bowl. Typically, CBS and Fox will utilize their "B" or "Number 2" broadcasting crew.[citation needed]
- The 2007 game on CBS was held on the Saturday after Super Bowl XLI because of the Grammy Awards.[citation needed]
2010s[]
| Year | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) | Sideline reporter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | ESPN[4] | Mike Tirico | Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden | Michelle Tafoya and Suzy Kolber |
| 2011 | Fox | Thom Brennaman | Brian Billick and Terry Bradshaw | Tony Siragusa and Jay Glazer |
| 2012 | NBC[5] | Dan Hicks | Mike Mayock and Doug Flutie | Alex Flanagan and Randy Moss |
- Notes
- The 2010 game was the first time ever that the Pro Bowl was held prior to the championship game. It was held the weekend before Super Bowl XLIV.[6] NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the move was made after looking at alternatives to strengthen the Pro Bowl.[7] The game was also moved up in order to prevent a conflict that would have occurred if the game had taken place on February 13 or 14 (CBS would have rights, and based on the 52nd Grammy Awards, would have moved the game to the Saturday, as they did in 2007), with the game facing against the NBA All-Star Game, Winter Olympics, and Daytona 500.[citation needed]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ "NFL lifts TV blackout as Pro Bowl nears sellout". http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gitItpvqJGP-EM1koIWozSIGiglQD967450G0.[dead link]
- ↑ "Pro Bowl Blackout Date Extended". KHOU-TV. http://www.khon2.com/home/ticker/39250577.html.[dead link]
- ↑ "1995 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl". Hollywood.com. http://www.hollywood.com/tv/AFCNFC_Pro_Bowl/5169858.[dead link]
- ↑ "40th Season of Monday Night Football". ESPN. April 14, 2009. http://espnmediazone.com/press_releases/2009_04_april/20090414_MNFSchedule.htm.[dead link]
- ↑ Fang, Ken (January 26, 2012). "NBC Kicks Off Super Bowl Week With the 2012 Pro Bowl From Hawaii". Fang's Bites (blog). Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. http://www.webcitation.org/650aFnpiy. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
- ↑ "Pro Bowl to precede Super Bowl". ESPN. December 30, 2008. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. http://www.webcitation.org/650aZTrcL. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ↑ "2010 Pro Bowl moving to Miami, will be played before Super Bowl". NFL.com. December 30, 2008. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. http://www.webcitation.org/650aj5YhN. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
- ↑ Malloy, Tim; Lucas Shaw (September 8, 2011). "'Monday Night Football' to Remain on ESPN Through 2021". TheWrap.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/monday-night-football-remain-espn-through-2021-30792. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
External links[]
- Pro Bowl TV Announcers[dead link]
- Sportscasting History[dead link]
- The Complete History of the Pro Bowl
- ESPN to televise 2010 Pro Bowl.
- Game was expected to air on CBS[dead link]
- Pro Bowl Numbers Game
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at List of Pro Bowl broadcasters. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with American Football Database, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |