After a nearly three-decade run at Fox, veteran announcer Joe Buck is off to ESPN, reuniting with longtime collaborator Troy Aikman on Monday Night Football. So now what?
Buck’s departure is both a monumental loss for Fox and a giant win for ESPN, representing a seismic paradigm shift in sports broadcasting. And it’s only the beginning, with Fox, CBS, NBC, Amazon and ESPN all out for blood in a media arms race the likes of which we’ve never seen.
Football is what’s driving the feeding frenzy, but Buck’s legacy will always be as the voice of the World Series, a position he’d held since 1996. Needless to say, whoever Fox taps as his successor will have enormous shoes to fill.
Difficult as it will be to replace Buck, Fox does have options. Joe Davis is believed to be the “clear favorite," according to New York Post media reporter Andrew Marchand, though other challengers to the throne—Dan Schulman and Matt Vasgersian among them—can’t be discounted. Davis’ rapid ascension rivals Buck’s own meteoric rise through the broadcast ranks, calling Dodgers games for Spectrum Sportsnet LA, among other responsibilities. The 34-year-old has already succeeded one legend—beloved play-by-play man Vin Scully—suggesting he’d have no trouble filling the void left by Buck.
Marchand also names Adam Amin as a candidate to stand behind Buck’s vacant microphone while Kevin Burkhardt, studio host of Fox’s MLB pre and post-game show, should warrant similar consideration. The Fall Classic won’t be the same without Buck, though for Fox, injecting new life into the broadcast booth could prove to be a blessing in disguise.
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