You think of television's "highlights generation," and you think soon enough about Chris Berman.
And NFL PrimeTime.
The ESPN show, seen in Canada on TSN, has defined itself over the years as the best sports highlights show on the tube. But the football fun run is about to end.
Berman revealed in a conference call this week that PrimeTime's 19th season, which begins Sept.11, will be its last. The NFL's new TV deals, which give NBC control of Sunday nights (including a pre-game show), prevent ESPN from keeping PrimeTime in its usual 7:30 p.m. timeslot.
"It's a contractual issue," said ESPN senior producer Bob Rauscher. "We're not taking it off the air because we don't want to do NFL PrimeTime anymore. We would love to continue doing it."
Nobody more than Berman, who calls PrimeTime his favourite gig at ESPN.
"It's the most fun show I do," said Berman. "I really am pretty sad to be losing it ... There will be a void in my professional life, I can tell you that."
Former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle and ESPN executive Steve Bornstein came up with the concept for PrimeTime back in 1987, when ESPN secured its first contract with the league. The idea, said Berman, was to create "a show where the highlights were unlimited."
For football fans away from their TVs during the afternoon, it provided a perfect one-hour capsule of the day's action. "A whole generation might have got their football in an hour from this show," said Berman.
PrimeTime has had only two co-hosts since its inception: Berman and ex-Denver Broncos linebacker Tom Jackson. "I don't know if we're (Johnny) Carson and (Ed) McMahon, but we're good buddies," said Berman.
Jackson credits Berman with being the heartbeat of the show.
"The main reason the show is successful is that I'm working with the person whose does the highlights better than anyone in the history of TV," said Jackson, who admits he regularly watches replays of the show.
"It's an extraordinary thing."
But only for one more year. It's a thought that Berman said left him "very upset" when he first learned about it. While it's not exactly a death in the family, it still hurts.
"Someday, it'll be on my (professional) tombstone," said Berman. "He and Tom and ESPN did NFL PrimeTime, it was a helluva show and it was different than anything before it ... now we're not going to get to do it anymore.
"So I'm bummed. Wouldn't you be?"
rob.brodie@ott.sunpub.com
