Brent Musburger, fired by CBS Sports on April Fool's Day, Wednesday was hired by ABC in a move that may signal the exit of Al Michaels.
Michaels, who last week won his third Emmy as the top sportscaster, has filed a grievance to get out of his ABC contract after a suspension by ABC Sports President Dennis Swanson for violating a rule against using a family member on an assignment.
Swanson denied that Musburger, the most identifiable sports television personality, will move into Michaels' broadcast booth chair. He said Musburger's assignments would include college basketball, college football, World League of Professional Football, 'Wide World of Sports,' play-by-play on one of the two NFL wild-card games on ABC and host of the Super Bowl pre-game show.
'Al Michaels has a long-term contract with ABC Sports,' Swanson said from Louisville, site of the Kentucky Derby. 'He'll be here in Churchill Downs. There has been a lot of speculation in the press. Al Michaels has been involved in an internal personal matter. It's between the department and him. I don't think it's appropriate for us to comment on it publicly. I expect him on 'Monday Night Football' and to do the 25th anniversary Super Bowl game next January in Tampa.
'Their schedules just don't conflict with each other. I've always wanted to be talent-rich, not talent-poor. We wanted for a couple of years to make a talent acquisition. The opportunity just hadn't presented itself.'
Neither Musburger nor Swanson would give specific financial terms on what they said was a long-term deal.
'It has significant dollars associated with it,' Swanson said.
Musburger, who also had met with Ted Turner and officials from Turner Broadcasting, was dumped by CBS following an April 1 early-morning meeting between Musburger's agent, his brother Todd, and network officials. Musburger's 5 -year contract that paid him $2 million annually was to run through July, but CBS Sports President Neal Pilson decided that Musburger's last assignment would be the NCAA Tournament final the following night.
The timing of the announcement in Denver was curious, but Todd Musburger reportedly had asked for a CBS decision on a new contract by April 1.
'Yesterday is gone,' Musburger said Wednesday. 'I'm only worried about tomorrow. I don't think it was necessary, but that's history.
'It was a real easy decision for me to make. ABC expressed immediate and serious interest almost from the day after the announcement. They have through the years set a high standard we have all chased covering sports and their schedule is underrated. They have a great lineup of events.'
The highest profile event is 'Monday Night Football,' where Michaels sits in the lead chair.
'I hope he stays there forever,' Musburger said of Michaels. 'I think he's a heckuva broadcaster. I'm going to have no trouble co-existing with Al at ABC.'
Musburger's first ABC assignment will be in a yet to be determined role on a prime-time sports award show on June 25.
Musburger, a former newspaper sports columnist in Chicago, began hosting 'The NFL Today' in 1975. The show rated higher than the NBC pre-game programs every year.
He also anchored the Masters, the NBA Finals, the Pan American Games and late-night coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tourney.
Musburger was said to be overexposed and Pilson and CBS Sports Executive Producer Ted Shaker decided that they would spread the choice assignments around. It has been speculated that Jim Nantz, Greg Gumbel or Pat O'Brien will be Musburger's replacement on 'The NFL Today.' The show lost reporter Will McDonough to NBC on Tuesday.
Turner's TNT acted quickly after Musburger's announcement by naming Skip Carey and Pat Haden its NFL broadcast team. Haden had been a college football analyst for CBS. TNT will televise NFL games for the first time this fall.
