Rating the NBC announcers for Vikings-Lions
Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth and sideline reporter Melissa Stark will have the call at 7:20 p.m. Sunday on NBC.
Having covered the sports TV-radio beat for the Star Tribune for eight years, I found there was plenty of interest in that side of the business.
We tune into games to watch the action, but the viewing experience either can be enhanced or diminished by those describing what is going on.
Thus, each week I’m providing a brief analysis of who will be in the booth to call the Vikings’ game and whether the assignment is a good or bad one.
Network and broadcast team: Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth will have the call at 7:20 p.m. Sunday on NBC. Melissa Stark will be the sideline reporter.
Rating the duo: 8 on a scale of 1-10.
Why that rating? This will be the Vikings’ second appearance on “Sunday Night Football” this season after initially not being scheduled for one. It came as no surprise that a game between 14-2 teams battling for the top seed in the NFC playoffs was selected from a Week 18 schedule that wasn’t set from a time and network standpoint until the previous week’s games were complete.
You will have to wait all day for kickoff, but it will be worth it.
Tirico is one of the best in the business and is always prepared. Collinsworth will be an upgrade on FOX rookie Tom Brady, who worked the Vikings-Packers game last Sunday. Collinsworth loves to praise quarterbacks and that shouldn’t slow here with Sam Darnold facing Jared Goff.
The most important thing is the production will have numerous bells and whistles. NBC uses 30 to 35 cameras on Sunday nights, far more than a traditional afternoon telecast on CBS or FOX.
This not only provides viewers with a better product, but also means more camera angles for potential replay reviews.