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\u2019s edition, MLB announcers are revealed for Netflix, NBC\/Peacock, and Apple; Tony Dungy is out at NBC Sports; Mike Fratello is back calling NBA on NBC at least once more; and CBS\/TNT reveals who will call the Men\u2019s March Madness action while ESPN unveils announcers for the Women\u2019s Tourney.<\/p>\n
Matt Vasgersian To Call MLB Opening Night Game on Netflix, Become PxP Voice of NBC\u2019s MLB Sunday Leadoff<\/p>\n
MLB Network host and play-by-play voice\u00a0Matt Vasgersian\u00a0will call the MLB Opening Night game on Netflix<\/a> later this month.\u00a0Vasgersian is also joining NBC Sports to handle play-by-play for many of the\u00a0MLB Sunday Leadoff\u00a0games on Peacock and NBCSN.<\/p>\n Vasgersian, who spent the last five years as a Los Angeles Angels TV play-by-play voice, will continue his role at MLB Network, a position he has held since its inception in 2009. He\u00a0makes his NBC Sports\u2019 season debut on Thursday, March 26\u00a0on MLB\u2019s Opening Day presented by Adobe. He will be in the booth that day at Citi Field as 2025 NL Cy Young winner\u00a0Paul Skenes\u00a0and the Pittsburgh Pirates visit\u00a0Juan Soto\u00a0and the New York Mets at 1 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.<\/p>\n On the national stage, Vasgersian served as the voice of\u00a0ESPN\u2019s\u00a0Sunday Night Baseball\u00a0for four seasons (2018\u201321), and handled regular-season and postseason MLB assignments for FOX Sports from 2014\u201317. He has also been a prominent presence on MLB Network since its launch 17 years ago, calling Postseason,\u00a0MLB Network Showcase\u00a0and World Baseball Classic telecasts, and serving as a host on the network\u2019s flagship studio show\u00a0MLB Tonight\u00a0and off-season morning show\u00a0Hot Stove. Vasgersian also called\u00a0MLB Sunday Leadoff\u00a0games for Peacock in 2023 and was the voice of Sony PlayStation\u2019s\u00a0MLB The Show\u00a0franchise from 2006-21.<\/p>\n Vasgersian\u2019s previous MLB team experience includes\u00a0seven seasons as the voice of the San Diego Padres (2002-08) and five seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers (1997-2001). From 2004-06, he was with Fox Sports West calling men\u2019s basketball games for USC (his alma mater), as well as NFL and college football games for FOX Sports. Between 2004-14, he\u00a0worked five Olympic Games for NBC Sports, including baseball and softball play-by-play for the 2004 Athens Olympics.<\/p>\n Last week, NBC Sports named\u00a0Jason Benetti\u00a0the voice of\u00a0Sunday Night Baseball, and last month announced that recently retired MLB\u00a0stars\u00a0Clayton Kershaw,\u00a0Anthony Rizzo, and\u00a0Joey Votto\u00a0have joined NBC Sports\u2019 Major League Baseball coverage\u00a0to serve as NBC Sports\u2019 pregame analysts for its exclusive MLB Postseason coverage of all Wild Card games on NBC and Peacock, as well as on select pregame shows leading into regular-season\u00a0Sunday Night Baseball\u00a0games. Bob Costas\u00a0will host on-site pregame coverage leading into \u201cSunday Night Baseball\u201d broadcasts on NBC.<\/p>\n Albert Pujols, CC Sabathia Headline MLB Opening Night Broadcast Team<\/p>\n Netflix also revealed the rest of its broadcast team<\/a> for MLB Opening Night on March 25, when the New York Yankees visit the San Francisco Giants. MLB Network\u2019s production team will co-produce the telecast and pre- and postgame coverage in partnership with Netflix.<\/p>\n The Analyst desk will feature Elle Duncan as host and Albert Pujols and Anthony Rizzo as analysts. Joining Vasgersian in the booth will be analysts CC Sabathia and Hunter Pence. Additional talent includes Lauren Shehadi as on-field reporter and Bert Kreischer as special guest.<\/p>\n MLB Opening Night will also stream live on Netflix in English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Portuguese.<\/p>\n Japanese: Tomo Ishii, play-by-play; Shigetoshi Hasegawa, color commentatorSpanish: Pepe Segarra, play-by-play; Miguel Ramos, color commentatorBrazilian Portuguese: \u00c9rico Lotufo, play-by-play; Ivan Bruno, color commentatorKorean: Myung-jung Kim, play-by-play; Seung-hwan Oh, color commentator<\/p>\n Apple Brings Back Familiar Faces for Friday Night Baseball<\/p>\n \u201cFriday Night Baseball\u201d \u2014 a weekly Major League Baseball (MLB) doubleheader on Apple TV \u2014 returns for its fifth season<\/a> on Friday, March 27. For the fourth straight season, \u201cFriday Night Baseball\u201d games will be called by broadcast teams Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play), Dontrelle Willis (analyst), and Heidi Watney (sideline reporter); and Alex Faust (play-by-play), Ryan Spilborghs (analyst), and Tricia Whitaker (sideline reporter) with Rich Waltz, who will join the broadcast team to call select games during the season.<\/p>\n Tony Dungy Out at NBC Sports After 17 Years<\/p>\n Hall of Famer Tony Dungy is out as a regular on \u201cFootball Night in America\u201d after 17 seasons, as NBC plans to revamp its NFL pregame show. Originally reported by The Athletic<\/a>, Dungy confirmed in an X post<\/a> on Thursday morning that he will no longer feature on NBC\u2019s long-running NFL pre-game show\u00a0Football Night in America. \u201cI have been informed by NBC that I won\u2019t be back with FNIA this fall, and it has given me time to reflect and also to look ahead,\u201d he said in the post.<\/p>\n Fratello Calling Peacock NBA Game Tonight<\/p>\n Former NBC Sports NBA analyst\u00a0Mike Fratello\u00a0will call Monday\u2019s Lakers-Rockets game<\/a> on Peacock. Fratello, who currently works as an analyst for Clippers games on FanDuel Sports Network SoCal, will work alongside play-by-play announcer\u00a0Noah Eagle\u00a0and courtside reporter\u00a0Ashley ShahAhmadi. The appearance is a one-off for Fratello, but there may be other occurrences ahead this season, according to\u00a0Sports Media Watch<\/a>. Fratello appeared on NBC\u2019s NBA\u00a0throwback game earlier this month alongside\u00a0Bob Costas,\u00a0Doug Collins\u00a0and\u00a0Jim Gray.<\/p>\n Announce Teams Set for NCAA Tournament First Four and First Round Coverage\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n This year\u2019s NCAA Men\u2019s Basketball Tournament wil lsee Ian Eagle return for the third straight year as lead play-by-play announcer and the voice of the Final Four alongside Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and reporter Tracy Wolfson. Rules analyst Gene Steratore will also join the coverage.<\/p>\n Ernie Johnson will host studio coverage for the Final Four with Nate Burleson, Adam Zucker and Adam Lefkoe serving as hosts and Jamie Erdhal providing game updates throughout the NCAA Tournament. Studio analysts include Clark Kellogg, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Renee Montgomery in New York, and Bruce Pearl, Jamal Mashburn, Jalen Rose and Seth Davis in Atlanta.<\/p>\n Robbie Hummel will be on site through the Regional Finals with Candace Parker and Wally Szczerbiak calling games for the first time as Brandon Gaudin and Jared Greenberg join the team.<\/p>\n The First Four on Tuesday and Wednesday will feature Howard Jordan Kent, Jim Spanarkel, and Jenny Dell calling three of the four games, while Brian Anderson, Charles Barkley, Dick Vitale, and Jenny Dell handle the Texas-NC State matchup at 9:15 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n Games will be called by (Play-by-Play, Analyst(s), Reporter):<\/p>\n Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy WolfsonBrian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForceBrandon Gaudin, Chris Webber, Andy KatzBrad Nessler, Wally Szczerbiak, Jared GreenbergSpero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, Jon RothsteinTom McCarthy, Candice Parker, Dan Bonner, AJ RossKevin Harlan, Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy, Lauren ShehadiAndrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, Evan Washburn<\/p>\n ESPN Networks Reveal NCAA Women\u2019s Tourney Announcers <\/p>\n Sixteen commentator teams will cover the first weekend of the NCAA Division I Women\u2019s Basketball Tournament Presented by Capital One, which begins on Wednesday, March 18. For the first time, all four ABC sites in the first and second rounds will feature a reporter, with Holly Rowe, Alyssa Lang, Molly McGrath and Jess Sims joining the calls.<\/p>\n Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe will cover top-seeded UConn\u2019s site in Storrs, Conn., featuring UConn, Iowa State, Syracuse and UTSA. Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty will call games from Pauley Pavilion as No. 1 UCLA hosts Cal Baptist, Oklahoma State and Princeton. Dave O\u2019Brien and Jimmy Dykes will call the action in Austin through the Second Round, featuring No. 1 Texas vs. SFA\/Missouri State and Oregon vs. Virginia Tech.<\/p>\n Courtney Lyle and Steffi Sorensen will call the First Four matchup in Columbia, S.C., between Samford and Southern U. on Thursday. Stephanie White and Molly McGrath will join Lyle at Colonial Life Arena for Saturday and Monday coverage.<\/p>\n Tiffany Greene, Carolyn Peck and Alyssa Lang will cover second-seeded LSU\u2019s site in Baton Rouge, where the Tigers host Jacksonville, Texas Tech and Villanova. Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli and Jess Sims will call the action in Ann Arbor, Mich., featuring Michigan, Holy Cross, NC State, and Tennessee.<\/p>\n Jenn Hildreth and Kelly Gramlich will call games in Durham, N.C., with First Four play beginning Wednesday between 11-seeds Richmond and Nebraska. The site also includes Duke, College of Charleston and Baylor. Matt Schumacker and Ros Gold-Onwude will call the First Four in Iowa City, Iowa, featuring Iowa, Fairleigh Dickinson, Georgia and the winner of Arizona State\/Virginia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":["post-527440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}