Fox is shaking up its NFL coverage a bit, and adding a voice thought by many to be a rising star in sports broadcasting.
Fox adds Burkhardt, Barber to NFL coverage
Burkhardt will be paired with John Lynch and occasionally Erin Andrews on NFL games this season.
Jim McIsaac
The network will pair up current SNY reporter Kevin Burkhardt -- who also previously called nationally syndicated radio broadcasts of Dallas Cowboys games -- with analyst John Lynch, who worked with Dick Stockton last season, to call a regular package of games this upcoming season. Now, new broadcast teams are nothing novel, but the fact that another of Fox’s stars will occasionally be added to the team is interesting, as Erin Andrews will be a sideline reporter for select broadcasts with this pair.
Though Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa are traditionally seen as Fox’s No. 2 broadcast behind Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, Fox used Lynch and Dick Stockton on the NFC Divisional Playoff game that Buck and Aikman did not call last season. That means that Burkhardt, Lynch and Andrews could conceivably be assigned that game this year. The network certainly doesn’t like to waste Andrews -- who helps cover playoff baseball and hosts college football coverage -- on minor events.
It’ll mark the biggest assignment to date for Burkhardt, who is not only seen as an up-and-coming talent by many, but whose contract with SNY is up at the end of the year. Not to speculate, but not only is Fox giving Burkhardt what appears to be a primo NFL assignment, they also will have two MLB Division Series starting in 2014, as well as Big East basketball on Fox Sports 1. The network has used Burkhardt to call regional MLB games in the past. He could be seen as a long-term investment at Fox.
In other NFL on Fox news, the network has also added Ronde Barber to their roster as an analyst. He could potentially be seen on both Fox and Fox Sports 1, which will program a daily, hour-long football show. Barber’s twin brother, Tiki, notoriously didn’t work out as a broadcaster at NBC when he retired a few years back.
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