ALAMEDA, Calif. – The Oakland Raiders will introduce revamped broadcast lineups for the team's 2018 television and radio broadcasts.
Brent Musburger, one of the most prominent voices and personalities in sports broadcasting, joins the radio team as the Silver and Black's new play-by-play voice for 2018. Musburger will be joined on the call for all Raiders games this season by former All-Pro tackle Lincoln Kennedy, who moves to the booth to handle color analyst duties, and Chris Townsend, who will report from the sidelines.
Rich Gannon will join the television booth for the team's four preseason games, linking up with play-by-play voice Beth Mowins and former Raider and veteran color commentator Matt Millen, both of whom return for their fourth season broadcasting the Silver and Black's preseason slate. JT the Brick also returns to handle host and sideline reporter duties for the preseason broadcasts.
"I'm looking forward to chronicling the biggest stories in the NFL, including the return of Jon Gruden to the Raiders' sideline," said Musburger. "Who knew you could have so much fun at my age?"
"I am really looking forward to returning to Oakland to join my friends Beth Mowins and Matt Millen in the broadcast booth as we call Raider preseason games," said Gannon. "It is both an honor and a privilege to join Beth and Matt and be associated with one of the finest organizations in all of professional sports. I am also looking forward to Coach Gruden's return to the sidelines and the passion, energy, and professionalism which he'll bring to all of Raider Nation!"
"It is a pleasure and an honor to work alongside a legend like Brent Musburger," said Kennedy. "I'm really looking forward to the upcoming season. I know the Raider Nation will enjoy our broadcasts. One people, one love, one nation…Raider Nation!"
Musburger called countless major sporting events during his time at CBS and ABC/ESPN from 1975-2017. He worked play-by-play on NFL games and hosted the groundbreaking studio show, "The NFL Today," at CBS, while also calling the NCAA Final Four, NBA basketball, the Masters, U.S. Open tennis, boxing, horse racing and Major League Baseball. He was the voice of college football for ABC/ESPN, calling seven BCS national championships. He also called NBA and college basketball games, golf, NASCAR and soccer. Musburger is a member of the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame and received the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports Broadcasting in 2016.
Kennedy returns to the Raiders' radio team, having served three years as the broadcast's sideline reporter. Originally a first-round pick out of the University of Washington by the Atlanta Falcons in 1993, Kennedy joined the Raiders in 1995 and started 119 games in eight seasons with Oakland. He was named to three Pro Bowls during his time with the Raiders, garnering second-team All-Pro honors in 2001 and first-team All-Pro recognition in 2002. Kennedy was a part of three-straight AFC West division championships with the Raiders from 2000-02, helping the team to an AFC Championship crown in 2002. He is currently a broadcaster for FOX Sports and Premiere Radio Networks.
Townsend joins the radio team for his first season on the sideline with the Silver and Black. A veteran radio and television personality with two decades of broadcasting experience in the Bay Area, Townsend has been an integral part of the "Silver and Black Show" for the past two seasons, and has handled both pregame and postgame hosting duties for Raiders broadcasts. He also currently hosts Oakland Athletics pregame and postgame shows and has covered numerous Bay Area teams on both radio and television.
Mowins returns for her fourth season in the booth for Raiders preseason contests, having started with the Silver and Black in 2015. Last year, Mowins handled play-by-play duties for ESPN's Monday Night Football opening week doubleheader broadcast, becoming the first woman to call a nationally-televised NFL regular season game. She also broadcast games for the NFL on CBS during the 2017 regular season and will call this season's Monday Night Football early broadcast on Sept. 10. Mowins has worked with ESPN since 1994, beginning as a commentator for women's college basketball. She began calling college football on ESPNU in 2005 and currently commentates on NCAA Championships in basketball, softball and volleyball in addition to regular season college football and basketball.
Gannon returns to the Raiders as part of the preseason broadcast team after previously serving as an analyst for Green Bay Packers' preseason games. Gannon has called NFL games for CBS since 2005 and formerly hosted a national show on Sirius XM NFL Radio. Gannon played 17 NFL seasons with four different teams, including his last six with the Raiders, and garnered four Pro Bowl selections and two first-team All-Pro accolades. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 2002 after leading the Silver and Black to an AFC Championship and finished his time in Oakland as the franchise's all-time leader in completions (1,533) and passer rating (91.2).
Millen, who entered the NFL as the Silver and Black's second-round pick in 1980, played 12 seasons with the Raiders, 49ers and Redskins, and was a part of four Super Bowl winning teams. Following his playing career, Millen was an NFL commentator for both CBS and FOX before becoming President and CEO of the Detroit Lions from 2001 to 2008. He returned to broadcasting in 2009 with ESPN, covering both the NFL and college football. He has also served as an analyst and color commentator for NBC, the NFL Network and Westwood One radio. He returned to FOX Sports in May 2015 as the lead game analyst for the Big Ten Network. He is in his fourth season calling preseason games for the Silver and Black.
JT the Brick currently hosts a nationally-syndicated talk show on FOX Sports Radio. He has handled preseason sideline reporting duties for the Silver and Black since 2008, has served as the host for the "Raiders Report" television show, and has appeared on numerous national radio and television broadcasts.
Silver and Black Productions, the Raiders' Emmy Award-winning in-house television production team, will produce and broadcast all four of the Raiders' preseason contests via FOX affiliate KTVU-2/KICU-36 in the Bay Area and KVVU/FOX-5 in Las Vegas, beginning with the team's preseason opener against the Detroit Lions on Aug. 10 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Raiders will travel to Los Angeles for a preseason contest against the Rams on Aug. 18 before returning home to face the visiting Green Bay Packers on Aug. 24. Oakland closes out the preseason with a road game at Seattle on Aug. 30.
Raiders preseason, regular season and postseason contests will be broadcast on terrestrial radio via the multi-state Raiders Radio Network, which is operated by Compass Media Networks. In the Bay Area, all Raiders games will be broadcast on KCBS-740 AM, the "Home of the Raiders," while select games will also be broadcast on 95.7 KGMZ-FM and 106.9 KFRC-FM. Beasley Media Group is in its second year as the Las Vegas radio partner for the Silver and Black, and will broadcast Raiders games on 102.7 The Coyote (KCYE-FM) and 720 AM (KDWN-AM). Raiders Spanish broadcasts in the Bay Area will be aired on La Z 1490-AM/107.5-FM.
