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Patrick to Co-Host NBC’s ‘Football Night’

Jul 7, 2008  •  Post A Comment

Former “SportsCenter” anchor Dan Patrick is joining NBC’s “Football Night in America” as co-host for the upcoming season.
The move will reteam Mr. Patrick with former “SportsCenter” partner Keith Olbermann 11 years after the one-time mainstays for ESPN went their separate ways.
“This is something I’ve been looking to do since I left ESPN,” said Mr. Patrick, who added that he “never had a better partner to work with” than Mr. Olbermann.
Olbermann said: “I’m delighted to be reunited with my tag-team partner. I can’t stop Dan Patrick from working with me again, I can only hope to contain him.”
“We are proud to reunite one of the greatest teams in the history of sports broadcasting,” said Dick Ebersol, chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. “Dan and Keith were more than successful together, they defined the way that sports highlights are now delivered. Their unique delivery has been sorely missed and now they’ll be able to take their act to a prime-time network television audience each Sunday night in the fall.”
Mr. Patrick was an anchor on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” from 1989 to 2006. He hosted “The Dan Patrick Show” on ESPN Radio from 1999 to last August, when he exited the network.
Mr. Patrick quickly signed a syndication deal with the Content Factory, which launched a new radio show entitled “The Dan Patrick Show” on Oct. 1 with Premiere Radio Networks. He also became Sports Illustrated’s senior editor following the move.
Mr. Patrick’s deal with NBC includes the football season as well as the Super Bowl during NBC’s years broadcasting the event, including this season, as well as Olympics beginning with Vancouver in 2010.
The rest of the talent from “Football Night” will return for the new season, including Bob Costas, Jerome Bettis, Cris Collinsworth and Tiki Barber.
While at ESPN, Olbermann and Patrick also wrote a book about their experiences working on “SportsCenter,” “The Big Show.” Costas, who wrote the foreword to the best-seller, said, “I think it’s a great idea because it reunites one of the great combinations ever in TV sports. I’ve been in favor of the idea ever since NBC Sports reacquired the NFL, but we haven’t been able to work it out until now.”
“The stars aligned for this,” said Mr. Patrick.
(12:30: Updated with Olbermann, Ebersol, Costas quotes)

4 Comments

  1. Can they possibly add any more talking heads to that program? Just confirms why I don’t watch that. Having Olbermann on it is reason enough! No slight to Patrick he is a straight shooter.

  2. Keith Olbermann: the overdue New York State Tax Warrant, Chinese American Trading Company the buyers of his real estate, the corporation
    Keith Olbermann: the address from 2001 of his, the parents of Katy Tur and the civil actions
    http://www.webofdeception.com

  3. This is great news — Dan and Keith are really great together — but they really could do without at least two of the “players group.” A four-person crew would be enough.

  4. *sigh* dittoheads, Hannimaniacs, Beckheads, and followers of O’Really always chiming in with with their anti-Keith slams on a story about the return of Dan Patrick to the airwaves. I’m just glad to see him back on television.

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