The NFL Playoffs show off the depth of the NFL’s TV partners

Something ridiculous that I notice every year during the first two rounds of the NFL Playoffs is how strong the broadcast teams are. Spreading the games in each around across multiple networks, the league ensures that top-tier talent will be calling its premier games in January. This, of course, isn’t a unique thing: each sport wants each network’s best announcers to call the best games. It’s not rocket science.

But when the NFL Playoffs roll along, I’m awed at how strong the league’s broadcast lineups are.

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CBS has two games on Wild Card weekend, and they’ll be called by the pairings of Jim Nantz & Tony Romo and Ian Eagles & Charles Davis. Kevin Harlan, one of the best broadcasters going today, is calling a pair of other games on radio, while the always reliable Greg Gumbel gets the month off.

NBC also has a pair of games. Their much-respected duo of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth gets one game, and the network’s other game will be called by Mike Tirico (who has gotten several games this year for NBC, with many thinking he’s actually better than Michaels right now) and Tony Dungy.

Fox’s one Wild Card game will be called by Joe Buck and Troy Aikman (love them or hate them, you can’t argue with the fact that they’re one of the league’s most prominent broadcast duos. Kevin Burkhardt, another beloved play by play broadcaster, gets the week off. Then there’s the one ESPN game, which will have the Monday Night Football trio of Steve Levy, Brian Griese, and Louis Riddick on the call. It’s not an incredible team, but it’s the best ESPN has to offer right now.

All of this is to say that even with six games airing across four networks, the NFL’s TV partners have an absurd amount of talent calling their games. When you look at some, mainly college, sports, the broadcast lineup thins out pretty quickly past the first couple broadcasters. Just look at the NCAA Tournament: yeah, the top teams are great, but some of the first weekend broadcasters simply aren’t all that great. The same is true in the early rounds of the NBA and NHL playoffs, when local broadcasts are simply simulcast nationally in many cases. It doesn’t scream “hey, this game is important!” when the playoff game is being called by (to choose a random team) the broadcasters of the Minnesota Wild.

The NFL adds two playoff games, and they’re called by Mike Tirico (who called several Wild Card games during his years with ESPN) and Ian Eagle (who has traditionally gotten the second CBS Divisional game in the years they’ve had two, which includes last year). It’s an embarrassment of riches.

Here’s the full broadcast schedule for this weekend’s game.

Saturday, January 9^th, 1 PM: Colts vs Bills; Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn (CBS)

Saturday, January 9^th, 4:40 PM: Rams vs Seahawks; Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi (Fox)

Saturday, January 9^th, 8:15 PM: Bucs vs Washington; Mike Tirico, Tony Dungy, Kathryn Tappen (NBC)

Sunday, January 10^th, 1 PM: Ravens vs Titans; Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Louis Riddick, Lisa Salters (ABC/ESPN)

Sunday, January 10^th, 4:40 PM: Bears vs Saints; Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Jay Feely, Tracy Wolfson (CBS)

Sunday, January 10^th, 8:15 PM: Browns vs Steelers; Al Michaels, Cris Collinswoth, Michele Tafoya (NBC)

In the divisional round, we’ll see more of the same. Network assignments haven’t been announced yet, but if the established pattern from previous years is followed, CBS and NBC will each get one game, while Fox will get two. This means we’ll get another round of Nantz, Michaels, and Buck, with Burkhardt likely getting the call for Fox’s second game. Just think about how strong that lineup is for the second round of the playoffs: Mike Tirico is a studio host! Ian Eagle is nowhere to be found! Kevin Harlan is still on the radio! It’s jarring, and shows how seriously the league’s TV partners take its productions of games.

In the playoffs this year, the NFL is also experimenting with a variety of alternate broadcasts, which you rarely see outside of championship-level events. The Bears-Saints game will be broadcast on Nickelodeon with an aim at drawing more kids to watching football. ESPN is giving its Ravens-Titans telecast the MegaCast treatment with an array of different feeds on various networks.

Cord cutters will also be catered to, with all games streaming on Yahoo, one on Peacock (Browns-Steelers), two on CBS All-Access (Colts-Bills, Bears-Saints), one on ESPN+ (Ravens-Titans, though it’s not the standard broadcast), and one on Amazon (also Bears-Saints, and several different broadcasts will be available through your Prime account).

If you’re the NFL, you have to be feeling pretty good going into your next round of TV negotiations. Your current TV partners are going all-out to keep you happy. Plenty of other outlets want to partner with you. Digital and streaming companies are falling over themselves to get some live NFL action on their platforms. It’s good to be king.