ESPN Considering Al Michaels For “Monday Night Football” As Amazon Enters “Deep Negotiations” For “Thursday Night Football”

[Ken Schroy]

Another network is reportedly interested in current NBC play-by-play commentator Al Michaels as he becomes a possible free agent following Super Bowl LVI. According to a new report from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, ESPN may pursue Michales for Monday Night Football ahead of his impending free agency, as Michaels name has been linked to Amazon’s Thursday Night Football broadcast. 

“The potential interest in returning Michaels, 77, to his TV football home — he was the longtime voice of MNF — comes as Michaels is deep into negotiations with Amazon Prime Video about becoming the main voice of its exclusive “Thursday Night Football” package that begins next fall, according to sources.”  Michaels spent 30 years with ABC Sports, now ESPN on ABC, and was the voice of Monday Night Football from 1986 to 2005. In 2006, the legendary broadcaster was traded to NBCUniversal for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a cartoon character created by Walt Disney but was owned by Universal. The trade was sparked after Michaels’ broadcast partner, the late legendary color analyst John Madden preceded Michaels in joining NBC. For ESPN, adding a veteran like Michaels will help bolster their broadcast team as the network has expanded their MNF coverage, which now includes a Monday NFL Wildcard game. ESPN will broadcast select games on their various platforms such as ESPN+, ABC, and ESPN2 throughout the next decade. Not only would ESPN be competing with Amazon if they were to acquire Michaels, but Amazon is reportedly interested in bringing the ManningCast to Thursday Night Football when ESPN’s deal with Omaha Productions ends in 2023.

If Michaels does make his return to ESPN, he could still end up eventually working for Amazon if Disney does spin-off the network and Amazon decides to acquire it.

https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/report-espn-considering-al-michaels-for-monday-night-football-as-amazon-enters-deep-negotiations-for-thursday-night-football/?source=home

Al Michaels was traded for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Funny story.

[ultraJETfan]

He would be the best commentator they have had since I can't even remember. They have been bad for a long time. The current group is okay but nothing special. 

[CSNY]

Doesn’t really matter. I turn the sound off as they all talk too dam much about the dumbest most meaningless Statistics throughout the games 

[slimjasi]

Michaels has been a great play by play guy over the years, but he’s past it. They should look for new blood. 

[Hal N of Provo]

College games of the end zone sky cams  without commentators were amazing.  
 

An audio stream with a bunch of fans like a live game thread and it would be perfect.  

[WestCoastMole]

3 hours ago, CSNY said:

Doesn’t really matter. I turn the sound off as they all talk too dam much about the dumbest most meaningless Statistics throughout the games 

During the early 1980s NBC got permission from the NFL to do some experimentation with broadcast crews. They wound doing the 1 Announcer Game. Charlie Jones did the 1 Announcer Game, Do you remember Charlie Jones ? The Jets wound up getting the No Announcer Game. The TV Producer decided to start the show from the perspective of a fan going to the game. You see the front of Giant Stadium from the perspective of a fan walking up to the Gate. Then a hand pops up in the field of view of the camera presenting the Gate Agent with a Ticket. The Agent takes the ticket rips it in half and gives the stub back to the fan and admits him. The camera is then seen making its way to its seat. (on the 50 Yard Line of course) A commercial break upon which the second departure from a normal broadcast became apparent. They had a camera down on the field to show the opening coin toss much like they do in the Super Bowl. After a commercial break they returned up to the position of the seated fan and the game proceeded. It was a surreal experience. The crowd noise was present but the clues of how the game was going from the announcers wasn't there. It was the type of broadcast that a diehard football fan could get into because that type of viewer doesn't need the input of an announcer to get into the flow of the game. But someone who is a casual viewer would get totally lost by the presentation. I really wish NFL Network and NFL Films would dig up that tape, Remaster it, and play it again on NFL Network. It would give alot of people a different perspective on how much announcers contribute to a broadcast.

[CSNY]

15 minutes ago, WestCoastMole said:

During the early 1980s NBC got permission from the NFL to do some experimentation with broadcast crews. They wound doing the 1 Announcer Game. Charlie Jones did the 1 Announcer Game, Do you remember Charlie Jones ? The Jets wound up getting the No Announcer Game. The TV Producer decided to start the show from the perspective of a fan going to the game. You see the front of Giant Stadium from the perspective of a fan walking up to the Gate. Then a hand pops up in the field of view of the camera presenting the Gate Agent with a Ticket. The Agent takes the ticket rips it in half and gives the stub back to the fan and admits him. The camera is then seen making its way to its seat. (on the 50 Yard Line of course) A commercial break upon which the second departure from a normal broadcast became apparent. They had a camera down on the field to show the opening coin toss much like they do in the Super Bowl. After a commercial break they returned up to the position of the seated fan and the game proceeded. It was a surreal experience. The crowd noise was present but the clues of how the game was going from the announcers wasn't there. It was the type of broadcast that a diehard football fan could get into because that type of viewer doesn't need the input of an announcer to get into the flow of the game. But someone who is a casual viewer would get totally lost by the presentation. I really wish NFL Network and NFL Films would dig up that tape, Remaster it, and play it again on NFL Network. It would give alot of people a different perspective on how much announcers contribute to a broadcast.

Of course I remember Charlie Jones , Al DeRogatis Kyle Rote , Curt Gowdy Tom Brookshier and all the other great voices 

 I also remember when Marty Glickman did one of the games solo on tv at the end of another lost Jets season and listening to him doing games on the radio first as a Giants announcer then as a Jets announcer he was a great listen 

Dam I miss the announcers of days gone bye

[WestCoastMole]

6 minutes ago, CSNY said:

 I also remember when Marty Glickman did one of the games solo on tv at the end of another lost season and listening to him doing games on the radio 

Dam I miss the announcers of days gone bye

Yup their were a lot of good ones. Like the team of Merlin Olsen and Dick Enberg. They principly called West Coast Games. But we saw them quite a bit when one of the local had a Monday Night Game and there was a Double-Header on NBC. Then there was Don Criqui. I remember him calling the playoff game between the Miami Dolphins and the San Diego Chargers in the early 80s. I was reminded of that game watching the Chiefs Bills game this past weekend. Both games were riveting.

[rangerous]

77 years old?  really?  time to move on and enjoy your money, grandkids, whatever.  funny how there are sooooo many klingons in the news and sportscasting business.

[WestCoastMole]

21 minutes ago, rangerous said:

77 years old?  really?  time to move on and enjoy your money, grandkids, whatever.  funny how there are sooooo many klingons in the news and sportscasting business.

There is also a distinct possibilty that Michaels winds up at the new Thursday Night Football broadcast Amazon is setting up. Which means most of us won't have to deal with him anymore.

[munchmemory]

"Peter, BTW for the record.  This is Al Michaels here. That was a totally farcical call..."

 

[Larz]

Please fix MNF. Getting rid of booger was nice, but the current booth still annoys

[Jet Blast]

22 hours ago, Ken Schroy said:

 Michaels spent 30 years with ABC Sports, now ESPN on ABC, and was the voice of Monday Night Football from 1986 to 2005. In 2006, the legendary broadcaster was traded to NBCUniversal for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a cartoon character created by Walt Disney but was owned by Universal.

I find this freaking hilarious!

He was traded for a cartoon character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. I can see how that could give someone an inferiority complex and I can only wonder if he needed therapy after that.

You can't make this stuff up.

[JohnnyLV]

7 hours ago, WestCoastMole said:

During the early 1980s NBC got permission from the NFL to do some experimentation with broadcast crews. They wound doing the 1 Announcer Game. Charlie Jones did the 1 Announcer Game, Do you remember Charlie Jones ? The Jets wound up getting the No Announcer Game. The TV Producer decided to start the show from the perspective of a fan going to the game. You see the front of Giant Stadium from the perspective of a fan walking up to the Gate. Then a hand pops up in the field of view of the camera presenting the Gate Agent with a Ticket. The Agent takes the ticket rips it in half and gives the stub back to the fan and admits him. The camera is then seen making its way to its seat. (on the 50 Yard Line of course) A commercial break upon which the second departure from a normal broadcast became apparent. They had a camera down on the field to show the opening coin toss much like they do in the Super Bowl. After a commercial break they returned up to the position of the seated fan and the game proceeded. It was a surreal experience. The crowd noise was present but the clues of how the game was going from the announcers wasn't there. It was the type of broadcast that a diehard football fan could get into because that type of viewer doesn't need the input of an announcer to get into the flow of the game. But someone who is a casual viewer would get totally lost by the presentation. I really wish NFL Network and NFL Films would dig up that tape, Remaster it, and play it again on NFL Network. It would give alot of people a different perspective on how much announcers contribute to a broadcast.

I may be the only one but I actually really enjoyed that broadcast. It did make you feel like you were just watching the game. With all the technology they could offer it as an online experience for each game with very little cost.

[JohnnyLV]

Interested to see what happens with Sunday Ticket

[section314]

7 hours ago, WestCoastMole said:

During the early 1980s NBC got permission from the NFL to do some experimentation with broadcast crews. They wound doing the 1 Announcer Game. Charlie Jones did the 1 Announcer Game, Do you remember Charlie Jones ? The Jets wound up getting the No Announcer Game. The TV Producer decided to start the show from the perspective of a fan going to the game. You see the front of Giant Stadium from the perspective of a fan walking up to the Gate. Then a hand pops up in the field of view of the camera presenting the Gate Agent with a Ticket. The Agent takes the ticket rips it in half and gives the stub back to the fan and admits him. The camera is then seen making its way to its seat. (on the 50 Yard Line of course) A commercial break upon which the second departure from a normal broadcast became apparent. They had a camera down on the field to show the opening coin toss much like they do in the Super Bowl. After a commercial break they returned up to the position of the seated fan and the game proceeded. It was a surreal experience. The crowd noise was present but the clues of how the game was going from the announcers wasn't there. It was the type of broadcast that a diehard football fan could get into because that type of viewer doesn't need the input of an announcer to get into the flow of the game. But someone who is a casual viewer would get totally lost by the presentation. I really wish NFL Network and NFL Films would dig up that tape, Remaster it, and play it again on NFL Network. It would give alot of people a different perspective on how much announcers contribute to a broadcast.

Charlie was one of my favorites....was introduced to him back in the good old days of the AFL. The no announcer game, last week of the 1980 season, Jets at Dolphins. We won, but really lost, as the Giants moved up to #2 in the draft and got LT. 

[CSNY]

2 hours ago, Larz said:

Please fix MNF. Getting rid of booger was nice, but the current booth still annoys

When the current group of announcer realize they don’t get paid by how many words they utter during the games and ascribe to the old adage where less is more then it may get better. Until that time sound stays off 

[WestCoastMole]

1 hour ago, section314 said:

Charlie was one of my favorites....was introduced to him back in the good old days of the AFL. The no announcer game, last week of the 1980 season, Jets at Dolphins. We won, but really lost, as the Giants moved up to #2 in the draft and got LT. 

Those were the days when the Jets had Miami's Number. No matter how bad the Jets were they always seem to beat Miami.

[Larz]

9 minutes ago, CSNY said:

When the current group of announcer realize they don’t get paid by how many words they utter during the games and ascribe to the old adage where less is more then it may get better. Until that time sound stays off 

I watched the Green Bay game last weekend with my 80s playlist on. I didn’t miss the blabbering 

[Jet_Engine1]

13 hours ago, slimjasi said:

Michaels has been a great play by play guy over the years, but he’s past it. They should look for new blood. 

All the new guys suck. ? 

[Peace Frog]

If there is one thing I could not care less about, it's who's being courted to jump from one station to another station.

Kind of like the wars between reporters as to who broke a story first and the catfights afterward about who should get credit.

NOBODY CARES.

[slimjasi]

16 minutes ago, Jet_Engine1 said:

All the new guys suck. ? 

I hear ya, but they need to find someone. Can’t rely on Michaels forever - he’s 77

[Lith]

14 hours ago, Hal N of Provo said:

College games of the end zone sky cams  without commentators were amazing.  
 

An audio stream with a bunch of fans like a live game thread and it would be perfect.  

I really enjoy college games when they have coaches breaking down the game.  For the Natty, they had a feed with Jimbo Fisher and his coaching staff breaking down the game.  For Georgia games during the season, former UGA HC Jim Donnan does a youtube show breaking down the game live.

Its not for everyone, and can sometimes be tough to follow the action live when coaches are still talking about a previous play, but I would love to see something like that for the NFL.  Thought the Peyton and Eli broadcasts were going to be similar to coaches breakdown, but they deviated too much, imo, to cringeworthy talk show tyope segments with guests.

[Peace Frog]

5 hours ago, munchmemory said:

"Peter, BTW for the record.  This is Al Michaels here. That was a totally farcical call..."

 

Idiots did this during the big SF earthquake.  

 

[y2k8]

 

I thought the Levy/Griese/Riddick booth was the best combo they have had since Michaels and Madden. I think they could probably lose Griese and make it stronger. It was a major upgrade from suffering through Tessitore and Booger MacFarlane. 

The problem is that ESPN cannibalized their broadcast with the alternative Manningcast.

[y2k8]

10 hours ago, WestCoastMole said:

During the early 1980s NBC got permission from the NFL to do some experimentation with broadcast crews. They wound doing the 1 Announcer Game. Charlie Jones did the 1 Announcer Game, Do you remember Charlie Jones ? The Jets wound up getting the No Announcer Game. The TV Producer decided to start the show from the perspective of a fan going to the game. You see the front of Giant Stadium from the perspective of a fan walking up to the Gate. Then a hand pops up in the field of view of the camera presenting the Gate Agent with a Ticket. The Agent takes the ticket rips it in half and gives the stub back to the fan and admits him. The camera is then seen making its way to its seat. (on the 50 Yard Line of course) A commercial break upon which the second departure from a normal broadcast became apparent. They had a camera down on the field to show the opening coin toss much like they do in the Super Bowl. After a commercial break they returned up to the position of the seated fan and the game proceeded. It was a surreal experience. The crowd noise was present but the clues of how the game was going from the announcers wasn't there. It was the type of broadcast that a diehard football fan could get into because that type of viewer doesn't need the input of an announcer to get into the flow of the game. But someone who is a casual viewer would get totally lost by the presentation. I really wish NFL Network and NFL Films would dig up that tape, Remaster it, and play it again on NFL Network. It would give alot of people a different perspective on how much announcers contribute to a broadcast.

Couldn't disagree more about what announcers contribute. I made a post earlier in the season asking if anyone with surround sound 5.1 who disable the middle speaker (which cuts the booth mics but leaves all the rest of the audio). 

The only broadcast I'm aware that does this is one of the college football playoff alternate telecasts on ESPN which I watched and thoroughly enjoyed. Only issue is that it is exclusively the sky cam view.  For the Championship Game they added announcers and ruined it.

FYI - The announcer-less game was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, not Giants Stadium. (Jets were still at Shea in 1980).

[WestCoastMole]

6 hours ago, y2k8 said:

FYI - The announcer-less game was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, not Giants Stadium. (Jets were still at Shea in 1980).

What happened y2k8 ?

section314 beat you by 3 hours. You're slipping

It's only been 32 years removed from another forgettable Jet Season.

Forgive us if our memories don't recall the intimate details of what was something most people would forget.

[y2k8]

46 minutes ago, WestCoastMole said:

What happened y2k8 ?

section314 beat you by 3 hours. You're slipping

It's only been 32 years removed from another forgettable Jet Season.

Forgive us if our memories don't recall the intimate details of what was something most people would forget.

I respond as I read the thread because I'm lazy like that.

[Peace Frog]

12 hours ago, johnnysd said:

I may be the only one but I actually really enjoyed that broadcast. It did make you feel like you were just watching the game. With all the technology they could offer it as an online experience for each game with very little cost.

Ahhhh I had my wisdom teeth taken out the day. It was a Saturday. My wisdom teeth were impacted so they put me out and had to chisel them out. 
I came home hopped up on pain killers and I’m wiped out in a deep delirious sleep. 

My mom, recognizing how big a Jet fan I was, put a TV in my bedroom so I could watch the game. Black and white TV with rabbit ears. 

I woke up in a hazy stupor to a Jet game with what sounded like only crowd noise, no TV announcers, no commercials. Freaked me out a tad. 

True story. 

[undertow]

12 hours ago, y2k8 said:

 

I thought the Levy/Griese/Riddick booth was the best combo they have had since Michaels and Madden. I think they could probably lose Griese and make it stronger. It was a major upgrade from suffering through Tessitore and Booger MacFarlane. 

The problem is that ESPN cannibalized their broadcast with the alternative Manningcast.

I actually like Griese and Riddick but Levy is the clear weak link...he adds nothing and most of what he says makes no sense....he's just your run of the mill ESPN employee who has nothing intelligent to say.

[Dunnie]

Michaels is easily the least annoying voice on NFL TV.

 

Collinsworth and Romo are unlistenable.  Aikman is right up there.

[RoadFan]

My memory of him was calling the Monday Night Miracle…

[y2k8]

11 hours ago, undertow said:

I actually like Griese and Riddick but Levy is the clear weak link...he adds nothing and most of what he says makes no sense....he's just your run of the mill ESPN employee who has nothing intelligent to say.

Yeah, I hear you - but I loathe Joe Tessitore so much that it makes a milquetoast like Levy sound like Dick Enberg in comparison.    

[munchmemory]

6 hours ago, Dunnie said:

Michaels is easily the least annoying voice on NFL TV.

 

Collinsworth and Romo are unlistenable.  Aikman is right up there.

For me, Mike Tirico is the best out there right now.

[JoeNamathsFurCoat]

Michaels is 77?

I think I’d be on a beach in Belize or Fiji or something like that if I were him

It’s not like he needs the money