NFL fans are only starting to get used to hearing Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.” This week, those tuning into ESPN will be hearing different voices on the broadcast.
Chris Fowler will be calling play-by-play action for Saints at Panthers on ESPN with Dan Orlovsky and Louis Riddick providing analysis for the “Monday Night Football” game.
No, Buck and Aikman aren’t taking a night off. No, Fowler, Orlovsky and Riddick aren’t the new primary ESPN crew.
The new-look ESPN booth is in place due to a wrinkle in the NFL’s schedule that will have Buck and Aikman in another state.
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Here’s why Fowler, Orlovsky and Riddick will be on the call on ESPN and ESPN2 for “Monday Night Football.”
Why Dan Orlovsky, Chris Fowler, Louis Riddick are announcing ‘Monday Night Football’
This is the first of three weeks in 2023 when the Disney family of networks will host a pair of “Monday Night Football” games at the same time. The other MNF doubleheaders will be in Week 3 and Week 14.
Starting at 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN will carry Saints at Panthers, and at 8:15 p.m. ET, ABC will have Browns at Steelers. Since it would be impossible for one crew to cover both games, Disney will be sending one broadcast crew to Charlotte and one to Pittsburgh.
Orlovsky, Fowler and Riddick will be the crew headed to North Carolina for the ESPN/ESPN2 game, while the No. 1 crew of Buck and Aikman will be headed to Pennsylvania for the ABC broadcast.
Where is Steve Levy?
ESPN’s broadcast crews have undergone plenty of changes in recent years. Last year, Buck and Aikman were brought over to ESPN, and Brian Griese left to coach with the 49ers.
Now Steve Levy, the former play-by-play voice for the former “Monday Night Football” crew, is off the No. 2 crew.
According to the New York Post, Fowler’s move to “Monday Night Football” coincided with the signing of a new deal with ESPN. Though the final figures weren’t publicly known, ESPN reportedly added “Monday Night Football” to Fowler’s slate to “sweeten the pot a little.”
Levy had already been moved off the No. 1 broadcast crew when Buck and Aikman were brought over, and on the “God Bless Football” podcast, Levy said he understood why he was being moved off the crew.
“If I would have been replaced by someone like myself at my level, I would have been crushed. Joe Buck is Joe Buck, and I get that,” Levy said. “My strength — honestly, and what’s really helped me in the business is — I know where I rank. I was never going to be that superstar.
“When I was doing SportsCenter, Stuart Scott was a superstar. [Scott] Van Pelt has his own thing. I try hard, I work hard, but I know where I stand and I rank.”
Are Joe Buck and Troy Aikman calling ‘Monday Night Football’ in Week 2?
Fans can still listen to Buck and Aikman on “Monday Night Football,” though not for the Saints-Panthers game.
They will instead be calling the Browns-Steelers game on ABC. That game will start at 8:15 p.m. ET.
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