or


[02/15/12 - 09:28 AM]
Ron Jaworski Signs Five-Year Extension for New, Expanded Multiplatform Analyst Role
He'll depart "Monday Night Football," leaving Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden as a new two-person commentator team.

[via press release from ESPN]

Ron Jaworski Signs Five-Year Extension for New, Expanded Multiplatform Analyst Role

New ESPN Monday Night Football Commentator Team: Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden

Ron Jaworski has signed a five-year extension with ESPN for a new, expanded multiplatform NFL analyst role that includes appearances on Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, NFL Matchup, NFL-branded specials, Mike & Mike in the Morning, Pardon the Interruption, and other platforms and shows throughout the year. Also, ESPN's Monday Night Football will have a new two-person commentator team for the first time during the 2012 NFL season with Mike Tirico and analyst Jon Gruden.

Jaworski, the former Philadelphia Eagles standout quarterback, will have a greater year-round presence on ESPN in his new role. In addition to appearing weekly on both Countdown shows and Matchup, Jaworski will make regular appearances on SportsCenter (primarily Sundays and Mondays), NFL Live, NFL Kickoff, Mike & Mike, and the PTI's "Five Good Minutes". He will also be featured in ESPN's annual NFL Draft and Super Bowl week coverage, in addition to having his own NFL-themed SportsCenter Special shows highlighting his expert analysis and X's and O's film evaluations.

Jaworski has covered the league from virtually every angle since joining ESPN in 1990, including sideline reporter, game-site reporter, host, and both studio and game analyst. He served as a MNF analyst the past five seasons.

"I am grateful for having the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of working on Monday Night Football the past five seasons with Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and so many other talented people behind the scenes who make the show so great, and I look forward to bringing my passion and knowledge of the game to more fans in more places than ever before on any and all football topics," said Jaworski.

"I thank Ron for the great contributions he has made to Monday Night Football and look forward to the many ways he will enhance our studio presentation from our NFL-branded shows to SportsCenter," said ESPN President John Skipper. "With two strong analysts in Ron and Jon, these moves will better utilize their strengths and benefit our entire NFL presentation."

With Jaworski's new role, Tirico, one of the industry's top play-by-play voices, and Gruden, the dynamic Super Bowl-winning head coach, will combine to give ESPN one of the top duos in NFL broadcasting. In addition to working alongside Jaworski the past three seasons on Monday nights, Tirico and Gruden have called a number of college football bowl games together, including the 2011 and 2012 Outback Bowl games, and the 2011 BCS National Championship (with Todd Blackledge) on ESPN Radio. They will make their regular season MNF debut on September 10.

The Tirico-Gruden pairing marks just the sixth time in MNF's 42-year history that sports television's signature series will feature a two-person commentator team. In addition, this will be the first time in 15 years that ESPN has used a two-person lead team on its NFL game coverage. The last was Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann who called Sunday Night Football games together from 1988-1997.

ESPN'S MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

ESPN's Monday Night Football has ranked as the most-watched series on cable television for six straight years, drawing 14 of the 2011 calendar year's 20 biggest cable household audiences, and 13 of the top 20 among viewers. ESPN's 17 Monday Night Football telecasts in 2011 averaged a 9.7 rating (8.4 US rating), representing an average of 9,589,000 households (13,252,000 viewers - P2+), according to Nielsen. Additionally, ESPN ranked as the No. 1 network each Monday night last season among the coveted key male demographics (M18-34 and M18-49). Since its debut on ESPN in 2006, MNF has registered seven of the top 10 all-time biggest household audiences in cable history (three Bowl Championship Series college football games - which also aired on ESPN - occupy the other top 10 spots).

* Quotes from Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden on today's announcement on ESPN Front Row





  [february 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ESPN)





[11/26/24 - 12:03 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Nov. 18: "The Merry Gentlemen" and "A Man on the Inside" Take the Top Spots
Season 2 of the animated series "Arcane" laid siege to #2 (6.4M views), while Season 1 took #5 with 2.2M views.

[11/26/24 - 11:44 AM]
TNT Sports to Debut "Evolve and Flex" with Lance Fresh Friday, Dec. 6, on truTV and Max
The show is hosted by sports-lifestyle expert Lance Fresh and features candid conversations with guests to discuss how life's events have contributed to their sense of style.

[11/26/24 - 11:19 AM]
MGM+ Announces 2025 Premiere Date for "NFL Icons" Season Four
In the upcoming fourth season, the docuseries will feature Pro Football Hall of Famers Joe Montana, DeMarcus Ware, Kurt Warner and Gale Sayers.

[11/26/24 - 10:24 AM]
Video: "Rogue Heroes" (MGM+ 2025 Series) Season 2 Tease
"Rogue Heroes" is a dramatized account of how the world's greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.

[11/26/24 - 10:09 AM]
Video: Acorn TV Releases Official Trailer for Second Season of Hit Australian Drama, "Darby and Joan"
The new season debuts with a two-episode premiere, exclusively on Acorn TV, on December 30, followed by weekly episodes through January 27.

[11/26/24 - 10:01 AM]
ABC News Studios Announces Fourth Season of Hit True-Crime Series "Wild Crime," Streaming Dec. 5 Only on Hulu
"Wild Crime: Eleven Skulls" delves into the haunting 2012 disappearance of Samantha Koenig, an 18-year-old Anchorage barista last seen leaving her place of work with an unknown man on a dark winter night.

[11/26/24 - 08:32 AM]
Bravo Greenlights "Vanderpump Rules" Season 12 with a New Group of SUR-vers
In addition, "Vanderpump Rules" will celebrate the past decade of heartbreaks, friendship rifts and scandals with a retrospective special highlighting the past 11 seasons.

[11/26/24 - 08:30 AM]
Video: Paramount+ and Nickelodeon Reveal Teaser, First-Look Images and Premiere Date for "Henry Danger The Movie"
"Henry Danger The Movie" will be available to stream in the U.S. on Paramount+ Friday, January 17, and premiere on Nickelodeon that same day at 7 p.m. (ET/PT).

[11/26/24 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Makayla's Voice: A Letter to the World" - Official Teaser - Netflix
Makayla is a teenage girl who has spent her life grappling with a rare form of autism that rendered her essentially nonverbal until her parents, filled with unwavering belief in their daughter's potential, embarked on a transformative journey to discover the true depth of Makayla's inner world.

[11/26/24 - 08:01 AM]
HBO Announces Ian Bonhote & Peter Ettedgui's Award-Winning "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story," Debuting December 7 on HBO and Max
The critically acclaimed film had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and recently won six Critics Choice Documentary Awards.

[11/26/24 - 08:00 AM]
HGTV Greenlights Gutsy Las Vegas Renovation Series "Sin City Rehab" (wt) Starring Indomitable Designer Alison Victoria
The eight-episode series will document Alison, best known for her Emmy-nominated series "Windy City Rehab," taking the biggest gamble of her career as she expands her successful design business out West.

[11/26/24 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "The Manny" Season 2 - Release Date Announcement - Netflix
A busy executive hires a cowboy to care for her kids in a moment of panic. Little does she know he'll challenge her views of gender roles - and of love.

[11/26/24 - 06:58 AM]
"The Talk" Series Finale to Air Live on Friday, December 20
Over the show's 15 season run, "The Talk" will have aired 2,993 episodes, garnered over 70 awards/nominations, promoted over 10,800 guests, gifted over $103 million in giveaways, and welcomed over 250,000 audience members.

[11/26/24 - 06:01 AM]
"Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" Will Debut Early - Watch the Two-Episode Premiere Streaming December 2 Only on Disney+!
Look for new weekly episodes every Tuesday starting at 6 p.m. PT on December 10.

[11/26/24 - 06:01 AM]
Paramount+ Sets December 9 Premiere for Docuseries on American Soccer Star Christian Pulisic
The first episode will premiere in December, while episodes two and three will premiere in January.