Earlier today Jason McIntyre at TheBigLead.com reported that ESPN’s Chris Berman “is being heavily pursued by the NFL Network.” McIntyre also noted that Berman’s contract with ESPN expires in three months.
(Protip: might wanna budget an on-call stylist)
Last summer I heard a random rumor floating around that Direct TV was interested in acquiring Berman’s services. Today I confirmed through two independent sources that the satellite television provider is now in full pursuit of the longtime broadcaster.
I was told Monday that Direct TV has approached Berman about a pregame and postgame NFL show that would wrap around its wildly popular NFL Sunday Red Zone programming - which is hosted by rising star Andrew Siciliano.
Additionally, the satellite provider would launch a channel devoted to sports programming that would highlight Berman and Dan Patrick. Patrick, also a former longtime ESPN broadcaster, currently hosts a national morning radio show that is simulcast on Direct TV’s Channel 101. The show airs from a plush, custom-built studio near Patrick’s home in Connecticut.
A similar national radio/TV weekday production for Berman has also been proposed.
Those two shows would be the flagship properties of Direct TV’s weekday sports lineup.
Lastly, Berman has long expressed to friends that he wanted to live in Hawaii full time. Perhaps this could be a prelude to him shuffling off to the islands with a Direct TV studio built expressly for him there. A little far-fetched, but file it away.
In talking to one sports media insider Monday, the consensus is that ESPN will make a “reasonable” attempt to keep Berman in Bristol, but if Direct TV or NFL Network want to invite Berman to board the Free Money Express, ESPN will not break the bank to keep him.
Follow Brooks on Twitter for real-time SbB updates.
9:50 pm on February 8th, 2010
see ya Boomer tired of your humor….
10:08 pm on February 8th, 2010
PLEASE…..MAKE…..HIM…..GO…..A…..WAY!!!!!
10:12 pm on February 8th, 2010
Andrew Siciliano is a rising star? I strongly disagree. He’s way too disturbing looking for TV, and he’s horrible on the radio
10:52 pm on February 8th, 2010
Berman: it was a good run, but yep I think it’s run it’s course.
Siciliano: Brutal on the radio. Only thing he’ll be good for is getting the suit that hired him fired.
12:06 am on February 9th, 2010
Hope Berman leaves so I can finally watch ESPN again. I tuned him out in the 80s.
12:59 am on February 9th, 2010
Siciliano is way too arrogant to ever be a real star. He’s just about optimized where he is now.
1:29 am on February 9th, 2010
Hopefully Tom Jackass goes away
2:18 am on February 9th, 2010
Get rid of Berman and have Bob Ley do something besides Outside the Lines.
2:45 am on February 9th, 2010
Berman needs to leave and before he goes they will have to pull him out of Bill Bill Belichick’s A–. He thinks the Patriots are the greatest thing since sliced pie. Well Drew Brees carved the Pats up like a pumpkin. Berman take your comb over to Direct TV with the rest of the LOSERS.
3:05 am on February 9th, 2010
Its about time he leaves. So sick of his one liners.
3:06 am on February 9th, 2010
I wish they would bring Dan Patrick and Keith back. Great duo.
6:05 am on February 9th, 2010
If Direct T.V. gets Dan Patrick, he will invite his buddy, Keith Olberman, on the show just often enough to lose all of the viewers.
7:13 am on February 9th, 2010
Will Leather go with him to the NFL Network?
7:20 am on February 9th, 2010
Please go away! He’s ALWAYS been an over-rated hack; Ricky “Running” Waters!?!? Nice one, there, Mr. Original.
8:08 am on February 9th, 2010
actually i think he is one of the best on Sportscenter however i cant stand sportscenter since Dan Patrick left, now it seems they all are a bunch of comedy central wannnabees.
8:23 am on February 9th, 2010
Just thinking about Keith Olberman doing anything semi-serious makes one want to vomit. All they need now is to bring in Rachel Maddow.
8:48 am on February 9th, 2010
berman and vitale are the main reasons i dont watch espn programs they are on…they were recently voted #1 and #2 worse sports announcers ….hope he takes vitale with him
8:49 am on February 9th, 2010
I have a lot of respect for Boomer. He defined ESPN in its formative years. It’s because of him that we have sports networks to love or hate. As with all marketable products, he has a lifecycle. I hope he can get the deal that fulfills his dream of living and Hawaii and working close to home.
9:05 am on February 9th, 2010
Go, go ,go, you are so over-rated . Tired of you trying to be bigger than the game itself.. Be gone with your tired self.
9:14 am on February 9th, 2010
I like Chris, if he goes to NFL Network maybe they can get rid of Ervin, Sapp and Sanders. Just a thought.
9:15 am on February 9th, 2010
beat my meat on the toilet seat, do dah, do dah, beat my meat down to my feet….oh do dah day!!!!
9:27 am on February 9th, 2010
Please don’t come to Directv. I tuned Berman out 10 years ago. He still saying the same thing. I am waiting for Tom Jackson to sucker punch him on air for being outdated. Directv is fine without him. Just get rid of Siciliano, Guido.
9:31 am on February 9th, 2010
Please don’t come to Directv. Berman is like Dish Network and Time Warner, old and out dated. Just get rid of that Guido Siciliano.
9:43 am on February 9th, 2010
Rising star and Siciliano shouldn’t be used in the same sentence..dude looks like a character from “Lord of the Rings”..that little creepy bald guy in love with the ring only with hair. no wonder he is mainly in radio.
9:46 am on February 9th, 2010
He………could……..go………away…….woooooppps
great he gets on my nerves
9:59 am on February 9th, 2010
WHO CARES!!!!! Bring back the SbB girls!! NOW!!!!! That would be news!!! Maybe he;ll learn to breath and talk instead of running on with his mouth!
10:11 am on February 9th, 2010
I have been tired of Berman for a while. I mute the home run derby because of him. I can’t stand Olbermann either. I miss Kenny Mayne on SC
10:15 am on February 9th, 2010
man i cant believe your all hating on berman. i think this is terrible news dont leave boomer.
10:22 am on February 9th, 2010
As with many other comments from other folks…I think Berman used to be excellent. Now, every time (and I mean EVERY time) he is in front of the camera, it’s a freakin’ walk down memory lane. “…I remember the old orange sherbert Bucs…” or “…how come I remember ‘The Catch’ so well when Montana threw to Clark…because I was THERE!…let’s review a highlight from 19…” blah blah blah.
I like Tom Jackson. He was a player and just seems to be both knowledgeable AND a nice guy. Berman is just about trying to create (or in his case) RE-create history every time he is on the screen. Sheesh.
10:27 am on February 9th, 2010
Please let him go somewhere far away…I avoid anything Berman does on ESPN.
10:55 am on February 9th, 2010
Oh please tell me it’s true! I can NOT stand this man! I predict Comcast subscriptions will skyrocket if he leaves for Direct
10:59 am on February 9th, 2010
I dont like to watch him, but after reading what Berman did in his early years FOR ESPN in the early days is amazing, he slept, ate lived and breathed ESPN before anyone ever knew what ESPN was, he would cover an event then travel two states over in the snow to deliver the tape of some meaningless college game, just so ESPN could air 10 seconds of it….and thats when the guy was an intern.
I dont like the guy, but he built that place.
he already makes 30 mil per year, give him 60 mil and let him retire at ESPN, its like vin scully moving over to the Angels.
11:16 am on February 9th, 2010
I don’t have DirecTV. So please, Chris, please! Please, pretty please! Go to DirecTV!
11:29 am on February 9th, 2010
I would of thought he would via stock own a chunk of espn > so to say > he has been there since Day One .. back when they had 1 camera and showed tiddaly Winks or whatever
11:33 am on February 9th, 2010
Please, Lord—make it so!
I remember years ago when I was actually glad he stayed w/ ESPN after spurning traditional networks.
But for the past decade or so he’s become a farce, a clown, a caricature of himself. Bombastic, screaming, unfunny bore.
Buh-bye!!
11:37 am on February 9th, 2010
Him leaving ESPN could not happen soon enough. Boring, unfunny, full of BS, has he ever been right on any forecast? The thing that really makes him leaving all the more worthwhile is that he takes Siciliano with him. Two excellent examples how people with no talent can become famous.
11:37 am on February 9th, 2010
So I won’t have to hear that nails on the chalkboard, screeching that he tries to play off as a sound effect? I mute him anyway, so annoying– If he could stop doing that he’d be tolerable…if he can’t? Buh-Bye.
11:38 am on February 9th, 2010
please chris go to direct tv. i can’t believe he lasted this long.never saw a sportscaster who knew less about sports. i always believed he must have had a relative high up the ladder with abc or disney. absolutly terrible announcer. and who gave him the nickname boomer?
11:42 am on February 9th, 2010
It’s DirecTV not Direct TV.
12:08 pm on February 9th, 2010
good, chris berman is a piece of crap announcer anyway
12:11 pm on February 9th, 2010
i hope Collinsworth goes with berman. neither one knows shit about sports. yes collinsworth did play in the NFL but he sucked as a player just like he sucks as an announcer
12:12 pm on February 9th, 2010
Good never liked Chris, good ridance. Now I wish espn would get rid of mike & mike. I don’t watch that espn channel since they don’t have all the previous various sports, they were great, loved all the variety on espn at that time. Now it is just boring, no new stuff on that espn channel.
12:20 pm on February 9th, 2010
imagine if siciliano were sitting next to john clayton. what a sight.
11:26 pm on February 9th, 2010
My preeeecciouuuuss….
10:17 am on February 10th, 2010
too bad it was Tom Mees that drowned, instead of Berman…
3:37 pm on February 10th, 2010
I love how many morons are dissing Boomer. Whether you enjoy his silly humor or not, he is better at his job than the majority of anchors/reporters on ESPN. The D-BAG trio of Chris Mortensen, Ed Werder, and now Adam Schefter is a joke. These guys care more about their Fave-5 on their cell phones and who Brett Favre texted first when he took a huge dump this morning. Rachel Nichols makes me want to ingest rat poison as she is terribly dull and bland. ESPN has been slipping lately and acting more and more like TMZ. Back to Boomer. He has the intelligence, voice, and enthusiasm required to do his job well. ESPN’s NFL postgame hasn’t been the same since they removed NFL Primetime. DirecTV is on the rise with the NFL Network. The DP show is the best show of its kind. Somebody above stated that ESPN should have Bob Ley do more than just Outside the Lines. He must have fell off the short bus. Sorry man, Bob’s doing his own version of Bryant Gumbel’s job just fine. Aside from some of their own poorly talented analyists, the NFL Network has surpassed ESPN when it comes to football. Their coverage of the combine speaks for itself. They would be lucky to have Chris Beman.
1:05 pm on March 1st, 2010
I made the switch from cable to directv, it has been pretty good so far. If I can do it after paying cable prices for 15 years, Berman can do it too.