As of July 1, Mike Tirico made the leap from ESPN to NBC. He’ll hit the ground sprinting.
The most relevant news for these purposes is that the man who served as the play-by-play voice of Monday Night Football for a decade will debut in August on NBC’s NFL coverage. NBC has announced that Tirico will handle play-by-play duties for the network’s two preseason games, teaming up with Cris Collinsworth.
They’ll get started on Thursday, August 25, with the Falcons-Dolphins game in Orlando. Three nights later, Tirico and Collinsworth will work the Bengals-Jaguars game in Jacksonville.
No announcements have been made regarding Tirico’s regular-season NFL duties, but it’s safe to assume he’ll be prominently involved.
“As promised, Mike will contribute to all of our biggest events,” NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood said in the release announcing Tirico’s initial assignments. “From Royal Troon to Rio to the NFL, and that’s just the start.”
Next week, Tirico will host NBC’s coverage of The Open on NBC and Golf Channel. He also will work as a host of NBC’s daytime coverage during the Olympics, which launch on August 5.
In the ultra-competitive media industry, it’s hard to find people who are universally liked. Tirico is one of the few, and it’s great to have him on the NBC team.