ESPN Hires Doc Rivers For Broadcasting Role
ESPN is going to have an entirely different broadcasting crew for the upcoming 2023-24 NBA Season. Jeff Van Gundy got fired during the June 30th ESPN Layoffs. Today, ESPN finalized the shakeup. Mark Jackson is also out. Doris Burke and Doc Rivers will fill their spots next to Mike Breen.
Andrew Marchand at the New York Post was the first to report the news:
“ESPN is closing in on promoting Doris Burke to the NBA Finals, hiring Doc Rivers to join her and laying off Mark Jackson, The Post has learned.”
Rivers, 61, has been in the broadcast booth before. Rivers called the 2004 NBA Finals with Al Michaels. He will now return to ESPN after being fired by the 76ers this offseason. After Rivers didn’t get a head coaching job, a return to the broadcasting realm always felt like it was going to be the next step for Doc.
It would appear that Burke and Rivers beat out JJ Redick for the spot. Redick was a finalist for the job. Redick still remains part of ESPN and I’m sure he’s more than okay with the decision given that he has plenty to do with his podcast that runs pretty regularly.
The only problem is I’m not sure this actually helps ratings at ESPN. Jeff Van Gundy was pretty good at his job. Mark Jackson… was fine? Things are so bad that ESPN is begging the NFL and other professional sports leagues to buy a stake in the company. Is this broadcaster shake-up really going to fix the macro issues at ESPN? I don’t buy it. Although, I fancy Rivers’ chances to do a good job at his new gig.
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