Chris Berman And Tom Jackson’s ‘NFL PrimeTime’ Suits Up For ESPN+

Patrick Hipes

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ESPN’s NFL PrimeTime, the sports network’s flagship NFL show almost two decades, is returning with its original hosts Chris Berman and Tom Jackson. The new incarnation of the highlights show will air on the ESPN+ streaming service beginning Sunday, returning it to screens after a 14-year absence.

SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt and Monday Night Football announcer Joe Tessitore will also be part of the hourlong show, which will stream live Sundays at 7:30 ET during the season. The network said each show will be updated with highlights from the late Sunday and Monday games, and each show will be available on-demand through late Wednesday.

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The original show ran from 1989-2005 before morphing into an extended SportsCenter highlights segment known as “The Blitz.” Jackson retired in 2016, and Berman semi-retired the next year, exiting his signature roles as host of ESPN’s NFL draft and baseball’s home run derby coverage and as anchor of Sunday NFL Countdown. He has been doing spot duty on various shows since.

The two previously returned in January to host a special NFL PrimeTime after the AFC and NFC championship games.

“Chris Berman and Tom Jackson’s return to NFL PrimeTime on ESPN+ combines one of ESPN’s most beloved franchises and signature voices with our most exciting new platform for fans,” Russell Wolff, general manager of ESPN+, said Friday. “Chris and Tom are the best to ever call NFL highlights and now a whole new generation of fans will be able to watch them each week as ESPN+ showcases all the best plays and key moments from the week’s action in the National Football League.”

Berman was one of the best-known personalities on ESPN arriving at the fledgling 24-hour sports network a month after its 1979 launch. Jackson, a Pro Bowl linebacker for the Denver Broncos, was at ESPN for almost 30 years and retired after he joined Berman in winning the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award for broadcasting.

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